The Shadows of the Moon
by Marlwolf
Summary: Prequel to the 10th Kingdom. How did the grandcub of the most infamous wolf ever find her place in Snow White's heart? When she can no longer run from it will Darkness overwhelm her? Or will the protection of a white dragon save her? FINISHED WOO!
1. The OneEyed Wolf

All the characters in this story apart from those obviously affiliated with the 10th Kingdom series are entirely of my own creation.  
  
SHADOWS OF THE MOON  
  
PROLOGUE - The One-Eyed Wolf  
  
Winter in the Fourth Kingdom was a sight to behold. Snow dusted the hills and forests until it was white and perfect.  
  
Virginia Lewis stared at the silent scene from the comfort of her room in Wendell's castle and thought how much it looked like something from. 'A fairytale.' She smiled at herself for the thought. Of course it looked like a fairytale - she lived where they were real.  
  
The chambers that she shared with Wolf when in the Fourth Kingdom were tastefully opulent. A grand four-post bed graced the centre of the room and at the end a cot was ready for their baby when it came. She rubbed her swollen belly and contemplated names for the child before taking a walk around the castle. She loved the gallery most - staring at the portraits of Wendell's family and others. But one particular painting stopped her in her tracks.  
  
Two figures stare benevolently at her from their gilt frame. The woman was dressed in an ankle-length green velvet dress with her long silver streaked raven hair entwined with wild flowers. Her feet were bare and around one ankle was a jagged circular scar. Her partner was wearing a matching suit, his long red hair wrapped around with vines. He stood slightly taller than her, but both had an air of wild grace about them. In their arms were two young babes. But as Virginia looked closer the thing that had first caught her eye became more obvious. Their eyes were the colour of pure gold - they were wolves.  
  
Now she looked closer she could make out their tails falling behind them and a pair of pricked ears laying flat on their tops of their heads. There was something especially alluring about the woman, female, some hidden strength or subtle dignity. There was a plaque beneath the painting - "Luna and Tamarisk upon their wedding day with their babes Luath and Miran."  
  
The more Virginia looked at the portrait the more she could see their wolfish qualities, and what's more they didn't want to hide it like Wolf did. Wolf. She wondered if he had seen it?  
  
Wendell came up behind her, startling her.  
  
'Oh, Wendell, it's only you. I was just looking at this painting. Did you know them?'  
  
'Not that I can remember, but I think they might have been friends with my Grandmother.'  
  
Wolf came bounding in through the open doors.  
  
'Ah, there you are, my little lamb chop. I was just.' Wolf looked up at the painting and his jaw dropped. He stared without a word at it before rapidly disappearing.  
  
'Wolf.?' Virginia called after him, but Wendell dissuaded her from following.  
  
'I think he needs to be alone for a while. Why don't you come with me, dinner will be served soon.'  
  
Wolf didn't return until it was dark. Snow had begun to fall again outside and his skin was as cold as ice to the touch. He looked lost and alone and Virginia went over to comfort him.  
  
'What's wrong?'  
  
'It's nothing, nothing. Just that those wolves in the painting reminded me of others I used to know. They died a long time ago.'  
  
'And they will fall into memory and nothingness unless their tale is told.'  
  
Wolf and Virginia turned as one towards the alien voice. Seated upon a window ledge that defied the imagination to explain how she got up there, was the most villainous creature Virginia had ever seen. Jet black from nose to tail, the wolf leaned against the stone wall nonchalantly, its single amber eye blazing with a burning intensity and candlelight glittering off the multitude of gold hoops that decorated its pricked ears and a solitary fang that jutted over its bottom lip.  
  
'I didn't expect to see you here,' Wolf said to the black wolf.  
  
'I could say the same to you.'  
  
'Wolf, you know this creature?'  
  
'You could say that,' the black wolf dropped off the ledge and landed skilfully. Now that it was upright Virginia could take full stock of it. It was painfully thin and covered in scars that created ridges and furrows in its sleek fur. It stood upon two legs and this in itself was menacing for it looked so much bigger. And it was female.  
  
'What are you doing here?'  
  
'I merely heard that the wolf who saved the Nine Kingdoms was here and I was curious. Is that a crime?'  
  
Wendell chose this moment to enter the room. He stared in shock at the villainous-looking creature and was about to call his guards when Wolf stopped him.  
  
'Wait, I know this wolf.'  
  
'What are you doing here?'  
  
'I bring with me a long forgotten tale that will stir your memory and your heart, for some appear to have forgotten what one wolf gave for this Kingdom. Can I see the painting?'  
  
They led the way to the portrait gallery and the black wolf reached up to the two wolves with tears in her eyes. 'Yes, I knew these wolves. I knew of their great love and passion and what events transpired for them to have earned a place in the heart of the greatest woman who ever lived. Their road was dark and dangerous and they lived their story as a message to others, even though their own children appear to have forgotten it.  
  
'I shall tell you the tale, and let it be known as the Shadows of the Moon for that is what they truly were. But I shall begin with one wolf for without him none of this would ever have been possible.' 


	2. The Legacy of a Legend

The hunt was on.  
  
His breath hung frostily in the air, which instead of announcing the wolfs' presence only blended him perfectly into the misty autumnal night. In sight, perhaps, but not in scent. Below him the hounds wailed and howled out their bloodlust. A lesser being would have given up long ago, but not him. No, not him.  
  
Gaunt and patchy from age, he still ran on. The hounds were closer now and he knew it would not be long before he felt their cold and loathing eyes as they spotted him and moved in for the kill. Still he ran on. He saw the lights of Little Lamb Village flickering in front of him and longed for the hills, their safety and anonymity, but that path was closed to him now. When he looked back he could see their torches moving in the trees. How beautiful they were... Then he wondered why he thought that something that would probably be his death was so enchanting, but it was undeniable.  
  
Altair was a famous wolf, probably the most famous throughout the entire Nine Kingdoms. His name would never be remembered, but his reputation would. The Big Bad Wolf, terrorisor of children, Lord of the Night.  
  
Still he ran on. His muscles ached and old bones creaked under the strain of the unwelcome exertion. Yet still he ran on, though much slower now and gasping for air. What a fool he had been to venture so close to the village to try and steal sheep. This was the price he paid to stop his family from starving.  
  
He could hear the dogs' paws pounding through the undergrowth and their baying to let everyone know that he had not vanished into the hazy forest. The heavier clumping of the men's booted feet reverberated like thunder in his ears as they drew closer, or was it the sound of his own foolish heart which had led him into this fight for his life?  
  
The lead dog was almost upon him and even the stars seemed to have turned cold to his plight, hiding their light in shame, but the moon tried to look down on him through the shifting and stealthy brume with love as She has done since the beginning of time on all wolves. He prayed silently to Her now as the lead dog's feet left the ground and its teeth fastened on the back of his neck.  
  
Altair cried out in pain and fell, the dog hanging on like grim death. A melee of paws and fangs threw up the early leaf litter and last years mould around the pair now locked in mortal combat. Blood and fur drifted off into the woodlands as they both sought the vital life stream flowing crimson in each other's throats. A spurt of warm, metallic blood entered Altairs' locked jaws, but although this small battle was won, he had lost the war.  
  
The men caught up and bound him tight, but he did not care any more. Altair felt a strange relief that his time of dodging and hiding was over and the men had captured him, as he always knew they would. Firelight danced in his tired and cloudy eyes and the new morning dew soaked his silver fur black. The dawning rats cut through the mist and Altair smiled as he sank into an exhausted sleep as the men carried him lifelessly back towards the village and the waiting mob.  
  
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The light shined harshly down on the village courtroom. Dark oak beams stood out against the off-white plaster. The entire room was charged with excitement. Frantic whispering passed between the spectators. A trial of this magnitude had never come up in Little Lamb Village. The Big Bad Wolf captured in their village!  
  
An awed hush fell as the jury flocked back into the box, the ewes and rams filling it in their own natural disorganized way. Their soft bleats echoed in the cavernous hall, as anxious as the rest for the Judge to return.  
  
And return the Judge duly did, his red cloak creating a splash of colour in the otherwise monotonous courtroom. Seating himself on the carved oak chair he removed his glasses with a grave and solemn air.  
  
'Bring in the prisoner!'  
  
Two rough-shirted young men from the village hustled a raw-boned old figure into the dock. Altair had grown even thinner and more elderly since his capture but a week before. Few noticed how pathetic he looked in chains, which he could barely carry, yet still the wolf stood with pride as the Judge addressed him.  
  
'Big Bad Wolf, you have pleaded not guilty to the murder of two of the Three Little Pigs and the attempted murder of Queen Riding Hood and her Grandmother. Do you wish to change your plea?'  
  
'No.'  
  
'Then we must look to the Jury. Those of you who believe him to be innocent go into the left hand pen, those who know him to be guilty go into the right hand pen.'  
  
Altair did not even need to look at the right hand pen full of the best quality sheep feed to know what the outcome would be. He had seen it all along. The sheep bleated and shoved as they trotted faultlessly into the 'guilty' pen. Altair almost allowed himself a small calm smile as the Judge turned towards him.  
  
'Now, Big Bad Wolf, you have been found guilty on all accounts. You know very well the sentence for wolves that commit these crimes - death. I will give you one last chance to redeem yourself. We know you are not the only wolf living near the village. If you tell us their whereabouts I will decrease your sentence to a life imprisonment.'  
  
Altair raised his eyes to the Judge, his voice resounded like the cracking of stone, 'Even if there were any more wolves I wouldn't tell you where they were for they would only share my fate of living out their miserable lives in cages in the village square where they would be constant objects of mocking and torture. Besides, you killed my wife and you killed my daughter, I'm the last one.'  
  
The Judge stared back at Altair, ice meeting ice, 'Then you leave me no choice. Big Bad Wolf, in the name of the good Queen Snow White, you are hereby sentenced to death by burning.'  
  
Altair was dragged by his two guards up the steps to the doors. All the onlookers cheered wildly, but one. He alone looked into the old wolf's eyes and felt pity and shame. He alone saw the old wolf's lips moves in one word that seemed only meant for him, "Remember".  
  
Before they reached the door, Altair had one last parting shot, one thing he wanted all to know. 'My name is not Big Bad Wolf, it's...'  
  
But he never got to finish. He was drowned out by the yelling mob in their lustful cry of "Burn the Wolf!"  
  
The entire courtroom emptied save for the one man who had heard the message on Altairs' lips. Unique in his emotions, he laid his head against the bench and wept.  
  
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The man trudged wearily up the slope, occasionally looking back to see the pyre still burning brightly on the opposite hill. He shook his head in sorrow, pulled his threadbare jacket tighter and continued into the benighted forest.  
  
He heard animals on either side of him in the trees, going about their nightly business, and he even thought he heard the howl of a wolf far off to the west. A youngster, no doubt, trying to find a mate of its own, but it was a fool to make its presence so obvious in dangerous country. He hurried on faster towards the small stone hut in the clearing.  
  
Polaris stopped short. A large sand-coloured wolf was laying across his threshold. Its head lifted and stared at him, the golden colour of its eyes dimmed to rich ochre in the starlight.  
  
'Polaris, is that you?'  
  
She had sensed him even though he had not broken the cover of the trees, she knew him far too well. The man loosened a small catch at the back of his trousers, allowing a curved grey tail to emerge. He grinned at his mate and left the darkness of the forest, 'Ara, what are you doing out here?'  
  
The couple sat together at the entrance to their little home, continuing to ask each other questions but neither answering. As time went on the answers became more difficult to avoid.  
  
'What was the judgement?'  
  
'How are they?'  
  
Finally Ara deigned to reply to her husband's questions, a protective, maternal smile on her face, 'All asleep, and safe. Are we?' The last question was serious, concern radiating from her gentle features.  
  
'The old goat wouldn't give an inch. They don't know we're here.'  
  
'I take it from yonder light what his fate was.'  
  
'He sacrificed his life for us all.'  
  
'May we, for him?'  
  
Polaris wanted to howl in the old wolfs' honour as much as Ara did, but reason prevailed, 'Not tonight. The fires not only burn on the hills but in their hearts. If they hear us pay homage to him in that way they will surely hunt us down until we are all dead and not a single wolf remains in these parts. Could you really bare to have them murder our children with their dogs, all for the sake of one howl?'  
  
'Stop, Polaris, please...'  
  
The image burnt itself into her mind. Their quartet of innocent cubs, their milk teeth not even beginning to be lost... It didn't bare thinking about.  
  
'I suppose the old fool brought it on himself, going that close to town and...'  
  
'Pigging out?'  
  
'That's what I don't understand. He always hated pork. And I can't believe he could muster that much breath. He had trouble blowing out a candle, let alone anything else. And fancy that girl thing coming back to haunt him after all this time...'  
  
'He probably got bored being cooped up here, coupled with a hunter's moon and his own senility, it was bound to happen sooner or later.'  
  
Polaris sighed reflectively, his heart heavy with grief; 'I'm going to miss my father, no matter who he was.'  
  
'We all will, my love, we all will. May the Lady of the Moon be with him.' Ara nuzzled her husband affectionately and turned to go back inside to care for her four young cubs, the continuation of one of the most infamous lines of wolves. 


	3. The Shadow of the Moon

The sun had set. The darkness was deepening by the second and the full moon had risen white over the horizon.  
  
The home of Polaris and Ara was a hive of activity. Many seasons had graced the Fourth Kingdom since the murder of Altair and the couples' cubs had grown up well. A cautious nose showed through a crack in the door and inhaled deeply. It snarled as something pushed against it, 'Damn you, Sirius!'  
  
The male wolf emerged, his gait powerful and predatory and his hair stuck up in spikes as it always did on the night of the full moon. He stretched luxuriantly from the tip of his bushy grey tail to the end of his quivering nose. He yawned widely to reveal four sparklingly white canines.  
  
Polaris scanned the clearing with his ears, nose and glowing amber eyes. Satisfied with the safety for now, he called out to his family, 'Come on out, it's all clear.'  
  
Ara was the first to appear, her beauty and grace enhanced by the light of the Lady's single eye. Together they watched as their brood took their predacious steps into the light of the hunter's moon. Their obvious love and respect for their lupine heritage filled their parents with pride as they inspected their quartet of cubs.  
  
Sirius was like the younger version of his father, the only wolf-like aspects of his configuration were his tail, moon-fangs and fiery yellow eyes. The only way in which he differed was his fur colour which was a sandy brown like his mother.  
  
Draco was less affected by the moon than his siblings, being almost a pure blooded wolf. Almost white underneath, his fur darkened to near black at his spine, taking on a grizzled hue at his flanks. His naturally cheerful face broke into an even wider grin at the prospect of a hunt.  
  
Mira, on the other hand, was as much human as Draco was wolf. A short, stubby tail and slightly discoloured eyes from their natural deep brown were all that marked her out as one with wolf blood. Even her fangs were smaller, but it didn't stop her joining in with family activities. However, her pure white hair made her remarkably striking in the darkness of the woods, caught as it was in the light of the moon.  
  
The final cub, if she could so be called, was Luna. Dark hair ran from the top of her head to the point of her tail, interspersed with silvery streaks. Her golden eyes shone with anticipation.  
  
The small pack was assembled. Polaris addressed his offspring in preparation for the hunt, 'Tonight we hunt as a pack, as a family. That family is everything, to fail it is to fail yourself. Use your instincts wisely and be ever watchful for humans. Although you are all human in part, the other part is despised and feared by full-bloods,' he particularly looked at Draco when he said this. 'You must not allow yourselves to be captured. You already know the penalties that would incur for both you and your pack.' The youngsters did know. Often they had been told of their grandfather's death and no detail had been spared.  
  
They nodded sombrely. Polaris beamed at them, they had learned well. 'Come. Let us partake of the chase which is life.'  
  
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The hut was cloaked in silence. The remains of a deer hind carcass were left far out in the forest for the foxes and crows to pick over. The family was well fed and sleeping off the night's exertions. Well, almost.  
  
Mira shook Luna, trying to rouse her sister without waking her brothers and parents. Luna finally stirred and opened her mouth to complain, but Mira's pale hand covered it and she hissed at her sister, 'Ssh! Come outside.'  
  
Luna, still rubbing the sleep from her eyes, followed Mira to the fringe of trees beyond the clearing where they couldn't be heard by even the sharpest ear from the hut. 'What is it, Mira?'  
  
'I've got some really great news.'  
  
'So have I - I'm going back to sleep.'  
  
Luna turned back towards the hut but Mira caught her arm and drew out a piece of paper. 'Look at this.'  
  
Luna took the paper and read it quickly before handing it back with a shrug, 'It's just a poster for a village dance. What's so special?'  
  
'Wake up, Luna! Why don't we go?' Mira's eyes gleamed with excitement, yet her sisters' were full of concern.  
  
'Are you completely mad? We'd get caught!'  
  
This was the response Mira had been waiting for. She fished underneath a thorny bush and drew out a rough sack. Filled with curiosity, Luna watched as her sister brought out two beautiful velvet cloaks and hoods. Luna fingered the heavy material, tracing with wonder the embroidered patterns along the edges. 'You really have thought of everything, haven't you. Where did you get them?'  
  
'I stole them when we were out last night.'  
  
'It could be fun, I suppose.'  
  
'Come on, then, before Mother and Father wake up and stop us.'  
  
Two cloaked figures, one in green and one in purple, stole away through the forest as the sun began to sink.  
  
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Under the light of the waning moon, the two wolves found their way to Little Lamb Village. It was no hard task to locate where the dance was, for cheerful music flooded out of the Village Hall and it seemed to be the only direction in which the villagers were heading.  
  
The nervous pair poked their heads round the double-doors, staring with amazement at the well-lit room filled with men, women and children dancing and clapping along to the music of the band in the corner. Fast-paced flute players and fiddlers kept up a lively reel.  
  
Luna broke their stupefied silence, 'Shall we?'  
  
'After you.'  
  
'But what if we...'  
  
'Get caught. How would they know?' It was a common occurrence for the two sisters to finish each other's sentences.  
  
Their moment of indecision was interrupted as a boy came up and grabbed their hands. 'Don't stand there gawping. Join the fun!'  
  
Forcefully dragged out of their reverie, the young wolves found the pleasure of dancing with the villagers. Luna blessed her sister for making her come. All their parent's stories seemed just like that, stories filled with exaggeration and morals.  
  
The night wore on and Mira's beauty won her many admirers, her dark eyes contrasting stunningly with her white hair which glowed in the candlelight. Luna never removed her purple hood for fear that people would notice her amber eyes. People were beginning to leave when a young man burst in, his hair and skin damp with sweat. The music ceased and everyone turned to look at him.  
  
'Wolf!' he gasped, 'A wolf killed my lambs! A wolf has called!'  
  
Luna and Mira's eyes locked across the dancefloor along with their thoughts. They should have taken more notice of the strong reek of fox as they passed through the outer farms. The mood of the villagers had swung dangerously and it was imperative that they left immediately before they were discovered. Sidling towards the doorway, Luna jumped as she felt her shoulder grabbed. She spun around to face the boy who had earlier encouraged them onto the dancefloor. His face was flushed with excitement. 'Where are you going? We're going to hunt the wolf!'  
  
The boy pulled on the cloak, intending to pull Luna back into the hall but only found himself holding the heavy purple cloak with a loose catch. He stared in horror at the revealed figure that he thought was a normal girl.  
  
Clad in a short leather tunic, the wolf stood apart, her salt-and-pepper tail sprouting from the bottom of it and a pair of dark ears twitching on top of her head with panic-stricken gold eyes beneath.  
  
This image only lasted a split second before the boy yelled, 'Wolf! The wolf is in here! Wolf! Wolf!' drawing the attention of the entire village.  
  
But the wolves had already gone, sprinting off towards the safety of the forest.  
  
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Far from the village the wolves were still running. In the distance they could still hear the sounds of the hunt. Mira, exhausted, was beginning to lag behind. Luna turned to her fatigued sister, the fear in her voice ill concealed, 'Come on, Mira! They're gaining on us!'  
  
'But I'm so tired!'  
  
'You can't stop, or...'  
  
Luna stepped backwards. A sharp snap and a sickening fleshy thud were followed by a scream born of pure pain. Luna fell to the grassy earth, her claws scoring deep furrows as the definite sound of metal clanking on metal cut through the night air. Mira knelt down beside her sister and examined her foot. The trap's biting metal jaws had cut deep into Luna's ankle. Blood poured from the deep wound and Luna writhed in agony. Between whines Luna managed to gasp out a few words, 'Fetch Father, he'll know what to do.'  
  
Mira nodded tearfully and set off for home as fast as she could. Luna took several deep breaths to control the pain and took hold of the maw of the cruel snare. She pulled with all her strength, trying to relieve the horrendous torture being inflicted upon her ankle. She could feel the pressure ease slightly before her hands slipped and the trap sprang back into place, crushing down on flesh and bone and slashing open her hands, Luna let out another cry of anguish, defeat and torment. She stared up accusingly at the heavens, but the night had become cloudy and no one watched the lone torment of Luna.  
  
The barking of dogs and yelling of the villagers was louder now and increasing by the second. Luna's eyes grew wide with terror as she heard the rustle of a bush near her. The familiar head of Polaris emerged, his faced lined heavily with concern.  
  
'Luna, oh my Luna. What have you done?'  
  
'Help me, Father. Don't let them take me.'  
  
Polaris examined the trap and its anchor deep in the hard packed earth. His ears pricked at the sounds of the pursuit terrifyingly close now. He closed his eyes and ignored his heart, making the hardest decision of his life. 'Oh, Luna, I hope you forgive me.'  
  
Polaris could not bear to look into his daughter's eyes for he knew what he would see there - pain, shock and betrayal - as he disappeared back into the bushes. He covered his ears but it did not stop Luna's desperate scream reaching him and ripping his heart in half. 'Father! Don't let them take me! Don't let them take me!'  
  
Bellowing with triumph the villagers spotted the wolf desperately thrashing like a wild salmon on a line. The bravest men stepped forward, avoiding the flashing, slashing fangs and bludgeoned Luna into unconsciousness with wooden clubs.  
  
Polaris watched with growing despair as his errant daughter was lifted jubilantly aloft and carried like a trophy back to the village.  
  
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As consciousness returned all Luna wanted was to slip back into empty darkness. Her whole body throbbed with pain and her pounding head felt twice its regular size. Light penetrated her eyes like barbs making her quickly shut them again. Only now did sound begin to filter in, and with it came the memories, terrifying and horrifically real.  
  
Luna was in two minds, on the one hand she wanted to shut out the world and the suffering it had inflicted on her mind and body and on the other she was intensely curious as to why she wasn't dead - it was only the agony that ran up and down her bruised and aching hide that let her know she wasn't.  
  
Despondency gave way to natural inquisitiveness about the odd geometric light patterns that played on her closed lids. She opened her eyes as much as she dared, only a mere slit, and took stock of the strange place that Luna now found herself in.  
  
The banded pattern of light had obvious origins now - she was in a prison. The glare of the sun passed between the bars, creating a shaft of brilliance that stung her eyes. She was almost grateful when the face of an ogler blocked it out.  
  
The two adversaries studied each other through the barrier. The man's face was not one that Luna liked the look of - it was hard and cruel. His lips were thin and surmounted by a greasy black moustache. The expression of greed and gratification in his dark eyes made all the hair stand up along Luna's back and a growl spring unbidden from her throat. However, this display just made the man's smirk grow wider. When his silhouette removed itself from her view, Luna shuddered. Lady spare her if he ever got to pronounce a judgement on her.  
  
It was evening when someone poking a stick into her already bruised ribs rudely awakened the wolf. She snarled with pain and anger, standing to face her tormentor. Resting her weight on her good foot, Luna looked out with surprise through the bars. The whole village seemed to be assembled in front of her prison staring in at her like some sort of peculiarity.  
  
Her silver splashed tail dropped as all at once the warnings and horrific stories had told her as a cub came flooding back, mixing up and causing chaos in Luna's brain. What was going to happen to her? Was her family safe? Would they torture her? Would they kill her? Luna scanned the rows of hostile villagers, searching for a single friendly face.  
  
One man stepped forward and spoke to her, but it wasn't the ally she had hoped for, 'Well, wolf. What have you to say for yourself?' Luna drew herself upright, trying to make herself look as dignified as possible in her weakened state, 'I killed nothing. I am innocent.'  
  
One young woman seemed to sum up the opinion of the entire village, 'How can you be innocent, you are a wolf!'  
  
'But I...' Luna's defence was cut short by a hail of vegetables and stones. She held up her arms to protect herself. As the barrage ceased the first man, evidently an important personality, calmed the throng, holding up his hands for quiet.  
  
'It would be unfair to condemn this wolf without a trial. Therefore I...'  
  
A tap on his shoulder stopped him in mid-sentence. It was the man who had stared at Luna during the day. His eyes roved occasionally to the wolf as he spoke, 'I would like to solve your problem without all this fuss. I will take this wolf off your hands to help serve mankind and keep it where you will never hear from it again. I am even willing to pay you a small sum...'  
  
Luna's body froze with fear as she caught the ruthless look in his eyes. 


	4. The Compassion of Royalty

The circus had come to the Fourth Kingdom! Everyone was excited, from the poorest peasant to royalty.  
  
Queen Snow White had commissioned a special performance at her castle. Most of the castle staff had been invited and requests accepted from various Kingdom folk. For the citizenry it was not so much the show as the chance to see Her Majesty who would be attending with her grandson, Prince Wendell.  
  
The young prince gazed with growing elation as he saw the wagons filled with wild animals and the huge red and gold tent being erected in the castle garden. A hand rested on his shoulder. The boy looked up into the gentle face of his grandmother, Snow White. Her beauty had not faded over time and age had even lent her an extra air of nobility. 'Patience, Wendell. It'll be ready by tonight.'  
  
'But I want it now,' he pouted.  
  
Snow White ruffled her grandson's blonde hair; he still had so much to learn. 'Patience is the virtue of a king and a hard lesson. Make sure you learn it well.'  
  
The five-year-olds face screwed up with concentration, but the sight of a white dragon behind his grandmother soon dispelled it. Snow White turned round and looked at the icy beast.  
  
'Arc, is everything all right?'  
  
'Yes, Your Majesty. I have just been watching the arrival of that circus. There's something I don't like about it.'  
  
'Does it pose a threat to me?'  
  
'No, Majesty, there is no risk, at least to you. I just get a bad feeling.'  
  
'As long as we are safe that's all that matters.'  
  
'Majesty.' Arc bowed low to the Prince and even lower to his Queen and left.  
  
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The benches were full to capacity. Lively music blared out and everyone laughed at the antics of the clowns, gasped with wonder at the feats of the acrobats and cheered wildly at the performing horses.  
  
Now the spectators were held in an expectant hush. Various performers ran in and out of the main ring erecting a metal cage. The audience watched with growing excitement. Finally, the Ringmaster stepped out, breaking the spell that had been wound over the onlookers. The dark little man with a greasy moustache removed his hat and spread his arms out wide, 'And now, ladies and gentlemen, the highlight of our show, the Courageous Cara, Tamer of Wild Animals!'  
  
A beautiful young woman with cascading chestnut hair swaggered into the spotlight, a small sequined loincloth accentuating all her assets. In her sun-darkened hands she held a whip and a baton. Her dark, almond shaped eyes looked out at the crowd as she curtseyed. The Ringmaster nodded to her and she made her way into the cage and inspected the equipment there.  
  
'We have constructed this cage for your protection, ladies and gentlemen, for Courageous Cara will, for your entertainment, attempt to tame the most terrible and cunning of wild beasts, the Big Bad Wolf!'  
  
Two of the congregation looked at each other, one clad in a threadbare jacket and trousers, the other in a full cloak and hood that left no part of her showing. Her gloved hand grasped that of the man sitting next to her and held it tight.  
  
The young wolf was unceremoniously shoved into the central cage. Her face had been smeared with blood to enhance the picture painted by the Ringmaster. To those who would know, or care, the signs that she displayed were far different from those that the ignorant saw. Her eyes were wide with terror and lips drawn back from her teeth not in a show of aggression but fear. Luna's heart pounded and breath quickened as her eyes searched desperately for a way out of the prison which would soon become her torture chamber.  
  
'This wolf was caught wild only a few days ago and has not been out of a cage since. Never before has such a dangerous exploit been attempted before a live audience, especially staged for Her Majesty Queen Snow White and the young Prince Wendell.'  
  
Cara captured the attention of Luna's frantic mind as the lash of her long whip caught the young wolf with a stinging blow on her rump.  
  
Luna's brain was working on overload and to breaking point. It snapped and reconfigured with the two principles of survival at the forefront - Fight or Flight. The route of flight was cut off and so she faced her tormentor with a focused look of brutality in her yellow eyes.  
  
Every crack of the whip she dodged with grace and style. She reached up and grabbed hold of the scourge below its sharp tail and wrapped it around her paw. With a quick jerk, the handle flew out of Cara's hand. Luna grinned and threw it out of the cage, but lost concentration for a second and received a blow on the jaw from the baton. Wiping a trickle of blood from the corner of her mouth, her teeth became clearly visible and all the hair stood up in stiff spines along her back.  
  
The audience gasped in dismay. It looked like the wolf was winning and that would mean only one outcome - the death of Cara. Many women shrieked at the impending catastrophe.  
  
It was now that Luna made her fatal mistake. Overconfident with her current success, she had forgotten her weaknesses. To quote the proverb, "Pride comes before the fall". Cara moved to get into a better position as Luna sprang forward. Landing heavily on her still swollen and smarting ankle, she crumpled in a heap on the grassy ring.  
  
Leisurely retrieving her whip, Cara turned back to the wolf as she tried to get to her feet. Now that she knew where Luna could be hurt all she had to do was press home the advantage.  
  
Luna was breathing heavily with her eyes closed, trying desperately to master the pain. Cara crept up behind her and threw a loop of rope over Luna's head. The wolf exploded as if shout from a cannon, but was halted by the choking rope around her neck. She jumped and struggled like a bucking bronco while Cara held on valiantly. When close enough she struck Luna hard on her injury.  
  
The sound which issued from Luna's jaws sent a shiver down every spine. Ara knew it well; it was a bloodcurdling screech that had often been used to full affect on both herself and Luna's siblings. It had the same influence back then, causing them to jump with fright or let her get her own way. Normally Ara would have smiled at the memory, but today it brought tears to her eyes as there was a new note of pain hidden there. She could see what was happening and it almost killed her to watch her young daughter's spirit shrivel up like paper on a fire. She stood up, this torture had to stop, but she was pulled back down into her seat.  
  
'Ara, you must not.'  
  
'I cannot bear to see her treated in this way. No creature deserves it, especially not our Luna.'  
  
'Then let us leave. There is nothing more we can do for her here.'  
  
The couple stood and started to leave. Ara looked back at her lost cub, 'My poor Luna. Let the Dark One come in peace.' Ara held up a handkerchief to her face and sobbed into it as she hurried away.  
  
Snow White watched as the two peasants walked past her to leave. The woman was weeping, that was plain to see, and her husband was comforting her. It seemed an odd thing to be crying at such a dazzling exhibition, but she put it from her mind and watched the act.  
  
There seemed to be a stalemate between Cara and the wolf. They stood eye to eye, watching for a moment of weakness.  
  
Another two-way decision faced Luna - fight until she could take no more pain or submit now and spare herself all that agony. Was she going to jump off the cliff into the dark abyss of her own accord or get pushed?  
  
Her tail and eyes dropped down low. Cara sneered and forced the wolf to the floor. The cheers and applause were thunderous and even more so when Cara reached down and stroked Luna's head.  
  
The cage was dismantled and Luna was led around the spectators like a disobedient puppy. Everyone reached out to touch the creature they feared so much. No one saw the single teardrop that shattered on the wooden bench.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Most of the audience had dispersed with words of thanks and good wishes to the Queen. As a gesture of goodwill, Snow White and the young Prince Wendell had been invited to meet the performers.  
  
The animals in cages and the strings of sleek, satiny horses fascinated Wendell. Arc, the white dragon, kept a watchful eye on him as he charged round the enclosures.  
  
The Ringmaster strutted up and bowed with a flourish. 'Majesty, welcome to my circus. Please look at anything you wish.'  
  
'I would like to reciprocate the gesture, you may turn any of your animals out into my paddocks and please do not hesitate to ask for anything you need, food or otherwise.'  
  
'My humble thanks, Your Majesty. Come this way.'  
  
The Ringmaster guided them through the maze of cages and cloth-hung dressing rooms, introducing the entertainers and relating interesting facts about the animals and what tricks they could do, some of the inhabitants even coming to the front of their cages to be petted. Snow White, nevertheless, could not help but notice the Ringmaster's eyes straying to look at Arc. The same expression of greed entered them that had been there when watching Luna in the prison at Little Lamb Village. Arc stared back with icy indifference.  
  
'That dragon of yours is quite a magnificent beast.'  
  
'Who, Arc? Yes, I suppose he is, rather.'  
  
'I don't suppose you would consider selling?'  
  
A short polar breeze was all that expressed Arc's opinion in the matter, expired as it was in a contemptuous snort.  
  
'That would be like asking me to sell my Captain of the Guard. Arc is my personal bodyguard, a trusty adviser and a good friend. All the riches in the Nine Kingdoms would not part me from him. Besides, he isn't mine to sell. He's a free citizen as are all my staff, I do not keep slaves.'  
  
'How much do you pay him?'  
  
'My services cannot be bought by you. I serve the House of White, no one else,' Arc's wings flicked open and shut angrily.  
  
'I think Arc has said it all,' Snow White's amusement was difficult to hide.  
  
They resumed the tour, although Arc's presence felt considerably more chilly than before. Only when they reached a wagon covered by a black cloth did the party halt. 'What's in this one?' asked Snow White, puzzled. Why cover this one and none of the others?  
  
'The wolf from the performance. We keep it covered to avoid public distress when it feeds. It isn't a pretty sight.'  
  
'I want to see it.'  
  
'Your wish is my command, Your Eminence.'  
  
The cover was drawn back to reveal the huddled, shaking little mass of misery that was Luna.  
  
The young wolf had receded into the darkest reaches of her soul. Her spirit had been trampled like a delicate flower amongst a charging herd of cattle. The Luna whom had happily been bounding through forest and over hill had been assassinated and buried. She had curled up as small as she was able to try and be absorbed into her own self. Every sense had been numbed because she could not endure the assault to every organ - the stench of urine, the sight of extreme anguish and the sound of souls in torment that screamed and screamed and wouldn't stop.  
  
In under a week her eyes had become as cold and as dead as those of the beasts around her. In the dark she could pretend that she was somewhere else, like still at home in the den where she was born. When the cover was removed she barely raised her tear-stained head. Only when the Ringmaster, the lord of her wretchedness, pounded the bars of her prison did Luna pay any attention whatsoever.  
  
'Come on then, you worthless creature! Aren't you going to greet Her Majesty Queen Snow White?'  
  
Struggling forward, Luna made her way to the front of the cage and kneeled, bowing her head to the Queen.  
  
'How did you teach it to do that?' the Queen exclaimed in astonishment.  
  
'Just a bit of friendly encouragement. You may stroke her if you wish, Majesty, and you too, Your Highness. Hang on, I'll make it easier for you.'  
  
There was something sinister in his voice that Arc did not like, and he could well guess what the 'friendly' encouragement might have been.  
  
The Ringmaster grabbed a short pole with a small iron hook on the end and unlocked Luna's wagon. The wolf backed off as far as she possibly could, making the Queen come to the same conclusion about the creature's training process as the glacial winged lizard who was her confidant.  
  
The youngster now stood in front of them, the hook attached to the thin leather collar around her neck. Snow White and Wendell reached out to stroke the wolf. The Queen noticed the hint of a flinch that was felt by the Ringmaster and checked by a curt twist of the collar.  
  
'And you say this is a wild wolf?'  
  
'Was, Your Majesty. She was captured but four days ago as a menace to society. Caught red-handed massacring lambs I hear. I think we have done wonders with her in that time.'  
  
Shoving Luna back in the beast-wagon, the Ringmaster's full attention was paid to Snow White. The dragon had gone round to the back of the cage where Luna had curled herself up in her former posture. A look in the wolfs' eyes had convinced the Queen that all hope was not lost, that she was not just a dead, empty shell, although she wasn't far off. There was still feeling somewhere deep in her heart, even if it was only a receptor to pain and fear.  
  
'You are a businessman as well as an entertainer, are you not?'  
  
'Indeed, Your Majesty.'  
  
'How much would it cost to buy all of these animals?'  
  
'All of them? I could not agree to that, Your Majesty, I would be out of a trade. The animals are what the people come to see. It would take years to train more to this standard.'  
  
'This wolf, then. It has only been here for four days. Surely it would not be that much of a loss and effort wasted.'  
  
'I could part with her for two hundred gold coins.'  
  
'Two hundred! Do you take me for a fool, man?'  
  
Luna listened with absolute apathy as her life was bargained, only when the pale, reptilian face of Arc came up and began to speak to her did she take any interest in anything around her.  
  
'It is a fine wolf and would be a fine performer in time. I assure you, she is worth every coin.'  
  
'You expect me to pay two hundred gold coins for a downtrodden and injured beast like this?'  
  
'One hundred and fifty.'  
  
'I will pay no more than one hundred.'  
  
'Done!'  
  
'I will have the money sent to you.'  
  
'But...'  
  
'Do you not trust your Queen?' the woman's voice was hard and had a tone that obviously expected to be obeyed.  
  
'Very well, Majesty. Will you take it with you now?'  
  
'Yes.'  
  
'I'll get you a rope.'  
  
The Ringmaster disappeared between the cages. The young Prince Wendell tugged on his grandmother's skirt. 'Is the wolf ours, Gran'ma?'  
  
'Yes, little prince, she's going to live with us now. Arc, what do you think?'  
  
The white dragon made his way back round to stand beside his ward; 'You did the right thing, Milady. All she could say to me was "Get out of this place before they destroy you too." Poor wolf, no crime could warrant this punishment.'  
  
'Did you see those people who left during that barbaric display? The woman was weeping.'  
  
'Yes, I saw. I tried to speak to them, but they hurried away before I got the chance.'  
  
'Do you know why they were so despondent?'  
  
'What can I say, they were wolves.'  
  
'They were?'  
  
'The scent is unmistakable. The wolf peoples have learnt to disguise themselves for good reason.'  
  
'Why...?'  
  
Arc did not need to reply, he looked at Luna who was the best answer anyone could give, 'They might have been her family, but then again they might not have. Wolves feel very strongly for each other.'  
  
'And they saw what I could not until I looked into this desolate creature's eyes.' 


	5. Union of the Outcast

It was almost dark when the mismatched quartet found their path over the short distance from the circus camp to the benighted castle. Snow White and her grandson led the way while Arc and the wolf who had once been Luna followed at a slower pace.  
  
The dragon could see that a vicious wound above her ankle had opened again and was weeping with infection. It was probably caused by one of those gruesome traps that men used to catch all kinds of animals, but especially wolves, mink and foxes. The wolf was limping badly, but hardly seemed to notice any more. There was a dreamy look in her dull eyes as she gazed at the rising crescent moon. Always ready catch her should she fall, Arc walked beside her, noting with sorrow that she neither looked nor cared where she was going. The only glimmer of hope was that she showed such an interest in the heavens, that she had not forgotten to be a wolf.  
  
As if to prove the point, Luna stopped. The flicker of a distant memory sparkled in her eyes before she closed them, tipped back her head and howled. The dragon felt the desire to join in and roared with her, creating a powerful and yet beautiful union of calls of the two most feared and maligned species in the Nine Kingdoms that made everyone who heard it shudder.  
  
Exhausted from the effort when the lament ended Luna sank to the floor, unable to stir a step or even rise to her feet. Arc lifted her into his arms and carried her towards the waiting royalty.  
  
'What did she say, Arc?' asked Wendell, tugging on the dragon's tail.  
  
'She didn't say anything, little prince, but she meant a lot. She knows that she is a wolf and that is a start. She needs rest now.'  
  
'So do you, young man. It's far past your bedtime. Look, Mummy's come out to greet us.'  
  
The young woman was standing by the open door. She was so much like her mother with skin as white as snow, hair as black as ebony and lips as red as blood. She embraced her son warmly; 'Did you enjoy the circus?'  
  
'It was fun. There were funny clowns and pretty horses and fierce bears and acrobats and lots of dogs and Gran'ma bought a tame wolf from them!'  
  
'That's wonderful, darling. Daddy's waiting for you inside. I'll be up to kiss you goodnight in a minute.' She ruffled her son's hair and pushed him gently inside. She looked over at her mother with a mock-stern expression. 'Bought a performing wolf, eh?'  
  
'What could I do? Look at her, Jasmine.'  
  
Jasmine gasped when she saw the limp form of Luna nestled in Arc's claws, fast asleep. 'What a dear little thing! Oh, she's so beautiful.'  
  
'She's very badly hurt with a sorely wounded heart. We just have to see what we can do for her. Arc, could you put her in the largest cage we have with a thick bed of straw, please?'  
  
'She's really taken a shine to Arc.'  
  
'I think it's more the other way round.'  
  
The white dragon tenderly carried his burden to the menagerie and laid her in a cage while he went to collect great armfuls of straw. After fluffing them up he placed Luna on it, she barely stirred. Tucking straw around her, he stroked her head fondly. 'Sleep well, little friend. From one cage to another in the name of human entertainment. I hope in this one you'll learn again who you are. I will do my best for you, as tradition demands. Don't let your fire go out.'  
  
With one last look of regret, Arc locked the door. Instead of going to the comfortably furnished outbuilding that was his home, he chose to sit under the canopy of an ancient yew tree and watched the stars move across the sky and wondered what would become of the young wolf whose heart had been torn asunder by humans whose only thought was for their own profit.  
  
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Luna's fevered eyes opened to a strange place. The smell of straw was sweet unlike the reek of urine that usually attacked her nostrils, but the wolf could hardly notice. Her body was an all-consuming fire. She couldn't remember how she got here, only the embrace of someone cool and comforting. Now she was only vaguely aware that people were standing watching her. Perhaps the moonlit walk last night had all been a dream. Her senses felt like they were wrapped in gauze, all hazy and distorted.  
  
'Well, what do you think of her?' The Queen was there, along with her physician, the head keeper of her menagerie and two of his assistants.  
  
'Beautiful, I think,' said the Head Keeper, his voice betraying his doubt.  
  
'I won't lie to you, Milady, she's very sick. That wound on her ankle has gone untreated for far too long and has festered, poisoning her blood and causing this fever. Even with my help I don't know if she'll survive, but I will try. Beck, I might need the help of you and your assistants as I don't know how far-gone it is.'  
  
Unlocking the cage, the four entered the domain of the wolf. They lifted the semi-comatose Luna onto the stone floor. The Physician examined Luna's ankle closely. Taking a bottle of lotion, he poured it on the wound and began to swab it over. The tenderness of the area was unpredicted as Luna let out a cry of agony as the pain cut through he stupor like a flaming knife through butter.  
  
'Hold her down! Hold her down!'  
  
The three menagerie keepers literally sat on the writhing wolf. From between her teeth emitted small whines as the Physician worked on removing the dead flesh and cleaning up the wound. He eventually wrapped a herb compress tightly on the injury before announcing the difficult part of the task.  
  
'We've got to get her to drink a composite of echinacea, vervain, wild oat and beanstalk flower. It's not the best tasting brew in the world, which is what's going to make our job a hard one. If she's to stand a chance we have to get it all down her.'  
  
He ground up and mixed the various ingredients with water, it turned a strange purple-green colour to indicate that it was ready. Beck prised open Luna's jaws with a short rod as the Physician tipped the liquid down her throat. She coughed and spluttered in protest but was overpowered by the four men.  
  
Beck whispered the last orders and the final drops of the potion dripped onto the wolf's tongue. 'On my count we all get off and move, quickly. We don't know what she's going to do. Right, one, two, three. Now!'  
  
Of all the reactions they had envisaged, the one that they never expected happened - nothing. Luna simply laid where she was and didn't move as the cage door slammed behind her. Suddenly the dark place in her soul seemed so much more inviting than the world outside; it was a case of out of the frying pan and into the fire.  
  
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Luna would never know how long it was until the fever broke. Days and nights passed in an unbroken stream of confusion, sometimes an entire turn of the celestial bodies feeling only like minutes. Every time she looked it seemed the compress had changed. The only thing she remembered of the whole experience was the storm.  
  
It rumbled up out of nowhere, dark and threatening, sending down great streaks of lightning coupled with huge rolls of thunder interspersed with vast sheets of rain blotting out everything on the horizon.  
  
Luna watched its approach without fear or even awe. She saw it as simply another obstacle put in her path. She did not seek shelter and let the torrent wash over her and cleanse her with its healing deluge.  
  
The thunder carried with it the echoes of voices, voices that she knew. Her family had come to visit through the storm and though she could not see them she could hear them, most inquiring about her health as family was wont to do. She caught the sound of Mira sobbing about how she had let her sister and her pack down. Luna wanted to reach out and hold her to tell her that everything would turn out all right and that she mustn't blame herself.  
  
Other voices broke through, those of the most vile of men, the Ringmaster, the villagers, the Queen and a gentle voice she could not place but which said, "Sleep well, little friend. Don't let your fire go out," and other things which she could not quite hear.  
  
But one voice drowned them all out, a voice that she remembered with great fondness, these words being said one stormy night like the one that resounded all around her by the light of a fire, "You are greater than you will ever know in both heart and soul. Though darkness will cover you, you must never give up. Learn from it and become strong."  
  
'Yes, Grandpa.'  
  
Luna bowed her head to the storm and let its waters wash all her pain away.  
  
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The first clap of thunder had awoken Snow White. She reached out to the other side of the bed, but it was cold, as it had been for two years since her husband, King Charming II, had died. She had never liked storms and now they just made her feel all the more alone.  
  
The room was hot and stuffy, almost suffocatingly so. Throwing on a robe, her feet slapping against the warm white marble floor, she made her way over to the glass doors and opened them wide, instantly getting a splatter of cool rain on her face. She walked out onto the balcony savouring every gust of wind, which playfully tugged at her silk robe.  
  
Holding onto the rail she looked down where the lightning lit up the castle grounds, in particular the menagerie. Of all the animals kept there only one was out in the rain, the wolf. The pitiful creature was resting her head against the bars of the ornate cage that was her home letting the water soak her fur black.  
  
She had often watched as one of the junior keepers had spooned water and liquefied meat into the wolf to keep her alive and it made her wonder if she had done the right thing in bringing her back.  
  
A white spectre landed on the railing next to her, making her jump back in fright. Its great wings folded away as he jumped down onto the balcony.  
  
'Arc!'  
  
'Sorry for frightening you, Milady. I thought you might need some company.'  
  
'You know me better than I know myself.'  
  
Small chips of ice fell off Arc's body, the rain having frozen when it touched the dragon's wintry skin. He took hold of Snow White's arm and led her back into her chambers, 'She'll be fine, you know.'  
  
'What do you...?'  
  
'The wolf. This storm is the best thing for her, for it cleanses and purifies. It's helping her to start to claw her way out of the deep dark pit in which she's fallen even as we speak.'  
  
'You've really taken to her, haven't you?'  
  
'It's an old custom. Wolves and dragons always look out for each other. We formed an alliance when times were at their worst.'  
  
'Do you think she'll survive?'  
  
'Oh yes, she'll come through. Her heart will mend more slowly, but it'll happen. By tomorrow I think you'll see a great improvement. The healer of wolves will be here tomorrow, but it is best to keep out of the way. Wolves are rather unpredictable when the full moon is up, give her plenty of fresh meat and stay out of the way of her teeth.'  
  
'Thank you, Arc. I think I'll be all right now.'  
  
Arc smiled, 'I'm not just a pretty face,' he opened his wings on reaching the open door, but remembered something he'd forgotten and turned around, 'Oh, and Majesty...'  
  
'What is it, my friend?'  
  
'Be careful with the wolf. Her heart is fragile, betray it and you might find yourself in deep water.'  
  
'Arc...'  
  
But the dragon had already glided off to his residence leaving Snow White to think over his last remark.  
  
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The storm raged over the countryside near the Little Lamb Village. A small family in a little stone shack huddled around a fire comforting each other against the tempest both outside and in their hearts.  
  
Two almost wolves sat at the centre of the semi-circle with a less pure wolf on either side. When he noticed the sandy wolf look out at the turbulent sky the darker wolf rested a paw on his mothers'.  
  
'I'm sure they're fine, Mother.'  
  
The wooden door was flung open by the unrelenting gusts as a cloaked and huddled figure staggered into the room. He shed his coverings to reveal the storm-battered form of Polaris.  
  
Ara's head was immediately filled with questions. She had come back days ago to look after the remnants of her family. 'Did you find anything out? Are they taking her away?'  
  
Polaris hung his dripping cloak by the fire and sat between his mate and wolfish son, Draco. 'No. Queen Snow White saw our Luna and bought her. She has her now.'  
  
The hotheaded young Sirius spat into the flames, 'They bought and sold her like a common animal, just typical of them!'  
  
Ara laid a paw on her brash son's bent knee, 'Calm down, Sirius. At least we know where she is and that she is safe, for now.'  
  
Ever since the accident Mira's eyes had held a haunted look, 'What does the Queen want Luna for?'  
  
'They want to put her in a menagerie where they can look at her,' the older wolf sighed heavily.  
  
The stick with which Sirius had been poking the fire was forcefully thrust into the hungry blaze, 'So they're going to stick her in a cage for the rest of her life. That's what they would have done in town!'  
  
'She won't be tortured in the palace, brother. In the village she would have been mocked and goaded for the rest of her life where as in the castle she will be saved all that. It is a small mercy but at least it is something to be thankful for.' Once again it was Draco's soft voice that was that of reason, but Sirius was not one to give up an argument that easily.  
  
'Kept on her own, what crueller punishment is there for a wolf?'  
  
'Listen to Draco, he is right.'  
  
'And we'll have a better chance of getting her out of a menagerie. It's unlikely that anyone will be guarding her, where as in the village we'd always be in great danger.'  
  
'We'll always be in great danger, but I agree with Mira.'  
  
Their parents had neglected to tell them about the horrors of the circus in which their sister had been needlessly persecuted and abused. There was no need for them to know the true cruelty of those places unless Luna herself told them, enough of their youth had been stolen by this misadventure. Mira especially did not need that extra weight added to her conscience."  
  
The storm had abated, leaving only a drizzling rain in its wake. The brothers exchanged a look of common purpose. Sirius put tongue to their thoughts; 'Draco and I will go and see if we can rescue her. We'll leave tonight.'  
  
'The journey will take many nights. Be careful, my sons,' Ara's voice was edged with pride.  
  
Polaris gave one last word of advice, 'Watch out for the dragon. I believe he honours the ancient oath, but he also serves the Queen. I don't know where his loyalties lie strongest. If it is to us he will be a valuable ally - he is a white Ice dragon - you can't miss him.' 


	6. Moonrise

The day had long since dawned when the Queen and Beck, the Head Keeper, made their way down to the menagerie. They talked like old friends although they had only known each other a few years when Beck had been employed from the staff of Queen Riding Hood II. In his hand swung a large joint of meat, but Beck did not think he would need it. What did a dragon know that he, who had worked with wild beasts all his life, did not? He was set in his ways even though he was still a fairly young man and that dragon was just another animal to him.  
  
When the wolfs' cage came into view they both stopped short. The change was phenomenal. Instead of lying listlessly on a bed of straw, the wolf was awake and pacing the boundaries of her cell with obvious vigour and interest. The pair were equal in their amazement and walked up to the bars to get a closer look because they could not believe their eyes.  
  
At first light, Luna had roused. She had slept since the tempest blew itself out and her initial thought on waking was that she could think. Her head was clear and the fever had lifted from her senses. There was new warmth to her blood that was not illness any more but the onset of the moon- cycle. It had flooded her brain with the heat and joy of living, the thrill of the hunt, and now she was seeking a way out to satisfy her need, her craving, for meat. That irksome bandage had been ripped away to reveal a fresh pink scar in a jagged circle around her ankle.  
  
The enclosure was fairly spacious, but not nearly enough for a wolf full of the fierce passion of the hunters moon. A stone-flagged floor amplified every sound of movement of which there was much. The only other objects the cage held were a small, straw-filled compartment for sleeping and sheltering and a small rock formation all of which had already been thoroughly inspected. These and the small water trough were all that Luna had to distract her from the welling fervour that grew by the second.  
  
By the time her stupefied captors had come to look at her, Luna was on the point of frenzy. The tiny spark had rekindled into a savage golden blaze and is was this that stunned the watchers most, for the last time they had seen her eyes they had been cold and dead. The snarl, which escaped through her bared teeth, was another shock.  
  
'What's wrong with her, Beck?' the flabbergasted Snow White gaped.  
  
'Nothing, Your Majesty. She's got the moon-madness. . It happens to all wolves on the full moon. They become even more dangerous to anyone near them and have a craving for blood - no matter whose it is.'  
  
The meat was thrown into the cage which illustrated Beck's point perfectly. Luna fell on it ravenously, tearing off great chunks and swallowing them without stopping to chew.  
  
Snow White addressed a task which she had put off until she had known that the wolf would pull through, 'We can't go on calling her "the wolf", she's got to have a name. What do you think about Mercury?'  
  
'A nice name, I just wonder if such a creature deserves it,' Beck's disgust registered all over his face at the wolfs' table manners. His hand ran through his thick blonde hair seeking anything to take his mind off the frightful scene. Queen Snow White almost laughed at him.  
  
'You've become too set in your ways, Beck. The influence of Queen Riding Hood has rubbed off on you. She's got a dreadful hatred for wolves stemming from a single incident when she was a child. They're only animals after all.'  
  
'One solitary evil wolf causing such a deep prejudice. It must have been the true incarnation of everything corrupt and despicable.'  
  
This blatant attack on her family stung the remnants of Luna's pride deeply, 'Do not insult my heritage unless you want me to do the same to yours,' she spat through mouthfuls of meat.  
  
'You can speak,' the Queen's voice was flat and calm despite this new discovery.  
  
'Just because I didn't doesn't mean that I couldn't. We wolves aren't as stupid as most of your kind think.'  
  
'Well, Mercury, this certainly is a surprise.'  
  
'My name is Luna, I will not have any other name. My name is an honour I am proud to bear.'  
  
'I am...'  
  
'I know who you are.'  
  
Luna's tone was sharp and clear. If there was one thing Beck could not stand it was lack of respect towards his sovereign, especially from a common wolf of all things. It riled his arrogance of being a superior species, 'Watch your mouth, wolf, in the presence of her Majesty.'  
  
A growl was Luna's only retaliation as she turned her back on them both to take a drink from the trough.  
  
Snow White's voice was tinged with regret, 'That's torn it now.'  
  
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The moon had risen high and Luna's blood was like hot molten gold. Her eyes glowed like fiery embers in the light of the exalted moon, her fangs had descended fully and pacing had to it a more frenetic step. Every now and then she howled at the beautiful moon. Her heart jumped into her throat when in the far distance came the howl of another wolf. What's more, the howl of a wolf she knew!  
  
'Sirius! Sirius, where are you, my brother?'  
  
A second howl came to her pricked ears; it was slightly different to the last, 'Draco!'  
  
A wolf's howl travelled for miles and Luna knew she would not see her brothers for many nights, longer if they got held up in any way. But they were coming and that was enough for Luna whose tail was lashing from side to side. The howl that emanated from her jaws roused the entire castle for she wanted it to carry to her brothers and let them know she was waiting for them, wherever they were.  
  
Several slippers and other bedroom paraphernalia were thrown in the general direction of the howling wolf. Most of the objects which found their mark would not survive until morning.  
  
Snow White herself came out onto her balcony. Beck had warned her that Luna would be noisy tonight, but she hadn't expected anything like this. 'Luna, be quiet now. We're trying to sleep.'  
  
A howl came back, the echo of Luna's Snow White presumed. A pair of shining amber eyes locked with her own. Now she could begin to understand why the people of the Nine Kingdoms were so afraid of wolves, the look in those eyes made all her hair stand on end.  
  
Luna finally tore her gaze away and a new howl rumbled in her throat and broke out into a new clamour, much louder than the first. This sound carried no message to her siblings but was an act of defiance to the ones who kept her imprisoned and who would stifle her cries, her very wolfishness.  
  
The gargantuan wails lasted until dawn when most of the inhabitants of the castle were either threatening to kill Luna by magic or strangle her with their bare hands.  
  
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Snow White yawned widely, Luna's howling had deprived her of much needed sleep. The sounds of scuffling heralded the arrival of the wolf. The door burst open and it was plain that Luna was back to full health. It took two guards to restrain her even though she was muzzled and in chains.  
  
Luna was not in the best of tempers. She had been sleeping off the effects of the moon-cycle when she had been pounced on. Before she had properly come to her full senses Luna had found that she had had a muzzle buckled over her head and chains on her wrists and ankles and was dragged off for an audience with the Queen. But the recovered Luna was not willing to give up without a fight.  
  
A blow to the back of her knees forced Luna to kneel. Fear flickered briefly in her liquid gold eyes as the flashbacks of the terror of the circus came flooding back thick and fast. Snow White saw it and called a halt to the brutal proceedings, 'Enough! I will not have this in my palace!'  
  
Luna continued to growl quietly under her breath. A guard believed this to be contradictory to the Queen's order and raised his spear to strike the wolf, but a stern look in Snow White's eyes stopped him.  
  
'Luna, will you speak with me?' The sovereign's voice was quiet and reassuring, but the wolf was too confused and upset to listen. 'You have nothing to fear from me, Luna, do you understand me?" Snow White spoke slowly as if addressing a child. This touched the rebellious core of Luna's soul and if she wanted to get her point across it seemed that this was the moment.  
  
'If I have nothing to fear than neither do you,' Luna's voice was muffled behind the leather muzzle.  
  
'I don't follow you?'  
  
'Remove the chains.'  
  
She nodded at the guards, they hesitated at their ruler's incredulous order until one voiced their doubts, 'But, Your Majesty, it is a wolf.'  
  
'I am perfectly aware of what she is. Take off the chains.'  
  
Luna stayed stock-still whilst the chains were unlocked and detached from her body. Soon she stood free of all restraint.  
  
'I have kept my side of the bargain. Will you keep yours?'  
  
One part of Luna was standing ready to cut and run at the first opportunity and was already looking for a quick escape route, but the greater part was curious about what this Queen who was her jailer had to say. She was more worried about the guards; 'I will talk with you alone.'  
  
Snow White waved the guards away, 'I will call when if I need you.' They left reluctantly; leaving their monarch alone with a wild animal did not appeal to their sense of duty.  
  
Luna, still looking for the trap in this ploy, asked one final question, 'Why do you want to speak with me?'  
  
'I am intrigued by you, Luna. You seem a good and intelligent beast, yet what could you have done to make all those people want to see you degraded in such a way. Surely the loss of a few lambs isn't enough to make them react so violently. What was your crime?'  
  
'My crime was the same as yours.'  
  
'I don't understand.'  
  
'I heard tell, when you were young, your stepmother ordered you killed because you were more beautiful than she was. She tried everything to murder you, even poison in an apple. You fell as if dead until a handsome prince awakened you with a kiss.'  
  
'I remember, but how is your story similar?'  
  
'Every wolfs' story is almost the same. You weren't persecuted because you'd committed a crime; it was because of what you are. You were victimized because you are beautiful. We are hunted because we are wolves, and because we must live. If something dies in the village, the wolves did it. If a fire is started, the wolves did it. If anything goes wrong, the wolves did it. We are easy scapegoats. My grandparents, their parents and their parents before them and so on were all burned to death because something bad happened in the village and wolves happened to be living nearby.'  
  
'But some of them were caught in the act. Several years ago, when I was a young Queen, I remember the Big Bad Wolf and Princess Riding Hood Incident. He deserved his punishment, even though he was only caught a few years ago.'  
  
The subject of her Grandfather always struck a raw nerve with Luna, 'How dare you, he was my Grandpa! Yes, he made a mistake but he was never even given a chance, he... he...' Despite the time that had elapsed, Luna still found it so hard to talk openly about her the wolf who doted on her and his untimely end and always dissolved into sobs.  
  
This display of pure emotion from a creature thought to be incapable of sentiment stirred the heart of Snow White. 'You don't have to tell me, but I would like to hear your side.' Her voice had procured a motherly tone.  
  
Luna pawed the tears from her eyes, ashamed of them now, 'Hear the wolfs' side, that's a first. Let me tell you of a different wolf than the one everyone saw burn. The wolf that told me stories beside a fire on cold winters nights. The wolf that gave up his share of a meal so we would not go hungry when times were slim. The wolf who called me the Shadow of the Moon and loved me for who I was. Yes, Grandpa was an old wolf who had travelled and seen many things. He would often tell tales to us of the adventures he had. He stole the basket from the girl to stop his young family from starving but he made no attempt on her life, despite what her poisonous tongue claims. Then he became very forgetful in his old age and would often become disorientated. He was perpetually hungry, as we had to live on meagre rations so our presence would not be noticed by the lack of game in the forest, but it never stopped his generosity. Grandpa slipped out to hunt one night. The next thing we heard was that he'd been caught. Father watched the trial. They offered Grandpa his life if he would say where the rest of us were. He refused. Poor Grandpa, he did not deserve that end.'  
  
Luna looked into Snow White's face, but it was impassionate. Her heart sank; there was no point in continuing any further. She walked towards the panelled doors with her furry back to the Queen.  
  
'Where are you going?'  
  
'Back to my cage, to sit there and look pretty. That's what you wanted me for, isn't it?'  
  
The wolf banged on the door. The guards rushed in and began to put the fetters back on while the Queen still questioned her, 'But why...?'  
  
'Despite your pretences I can see that you do not understand. You are a queen, and what am I? Just another fire-pit wolf, same as any other in the Kingdom. And by the way, his name was not Big Bad, it was Altair.'  
  
'What about your parents?'  
  
'As far as I know they are safe, as are my siblings, and I would like to keep it that way as we have no prince to rescue us.'  
  
Luna was roughly dragged away back to her solitary confinement to wait in hope for her brothers' arrival.  
  
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Luna did not have long to wait. Within the week Luna noticed two pairs of glowing eyes in the foliage surrounding the menagerie. Snow White had left the castle to visit one of the outer provinces leaving the brothers relatively safe to call upon their sister. She knew they had arrived when a stream of curses emanated from a thick rose bush. A hoarse whisper countered it, 'What is it, Sirius?'  
  
'I'm suck an' elfing well stuck, that's what's the matter. Help me, Draco!'  
  
'How you survived this long is a mystery to me, brother.'  
  
Luna was in absolute fits of giggles when her two siblings finally emerged from the thorny depths of the shrubbery. Sirius looked much the worse for wear, all scratched and grazed. Her brothers couldn't have raised her spirits more if they'd tried. Between spasms of laughter the young female wolf questioned them, 'What are you doing here?'  
  
'We came to see if we could get you out.'  
  
'I thought when Father left me it was for good.'  
  
'He just didn't want to get caught as well and leave Mother to cope with the rest of us alone.'  
  
'He tried to buy you back, but you had already gone. Mother feared the worst.'  
  
'Good old Dad! Let him know that I forgive him, and tell Mother that I'm safe. So, what's your plan?'  
  
The look that passed between the brothers said more than words ever could. Draco's eyes fell to the floor; 'We don't actually have a plan.'  
  
'We just came to see where you were, scout the area, see the quarters, you know.'  
  
'And bring you hope.'  
  
'You've done a fine job in that respect.'  
  
'How is it here, Luna?'  
  
'Dull, boring, lonely. I could cope if it weren't for their attitude. They treat me like the scum of the earth, forcing me to do this and that instead of asking.'  
  
'What happened to your leg?' Draco was staring at the fresh pink scar.  
  
'That was the trap, don't step in one of those things - it hurts like hell. It's fine now, it's healed up now.'  
  
The clank of a lantern came to Luna's observant ears, a shot of panic coursed through her veins and her eyes widened as her gaze alternated between the wolves and the direction of the approaching sentinel,  
  
'Quick, you must go now. The guard is coming. I'll see you another time.'  
  
Grasping the urgency of the situation, Draco nudged his brother, 'Goodbye, dear sister.'  
  
'Here, we thought you might need this,' Sirius pressed a tattered old piece of rabbit skin into his sister's hand.  
  
'Mr Bunny. Thank you.' Tears sprang unbidden to her eyes at the sight, feel and smell of her favourite childhood comforter. The wolves embraced each other through the bars before the twosome melted back into the bushes. Luna howled deafeningly to cover any noise of their escape as the watchman entered the confines of the menagerie in his own pool of yellow light, anxious as to the cause of the clamour.  
  
'Who goes there? Oh, it's just you, wolf.'  
  
'See you soon, my beloved brothers,' the inaudibility of the utterance made it that no one but herself and the moon could hear, but she was sure her siblings knew what she said.  
  
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Jasmine, the future Queen of the Fourth Kingdom, was panicking. No matter where she looked she could not find her son. Kidnapping and evil plots haunted her thoughts. Normally she would have asked Arc's help, but he was away with her mother, fulfilling his duties as royal bodyguard. No one would dare to harm Her Majesty while Arc was watching over her. As a last alternative she went to the menagerie. On rounding the cage where a pair of lynxes watched her from a branch, she saw Wendell talking to the wolf.  
  
The young prince was sitting cross-legged only a few feet away from the beast and apparently conversing unconcernedly with her. The very notion was absurd, everyone knew that wolves were just dumb animals. Besides, she didn't trust that creature with her only son despite her mother's raptures. Old age had finally got to her mother, she thought. To her the boy might as well be in a pit with man-eating lions.  
  
As she moved closer she noticed that the two weren't talking but that Wendell was telling the wolf a story. Her sanity wasn't at risk, then. It surprised her though to see that the animal was listening intently to every word. The story was just ending. It was "Cinderella". Jasmine silently praised her young sons' wisdom at not choosing one of his favourite stories, which usually involved the exploits of the Big Bad Wolf. She didn't like to interrupt and listened quietly as Wendell finished.  
  
'The handsome prince put the glass slipper on Cinderella's foot. It fitted perfectly. He held her hand and said, "You will be my queen." Then they got married and lived happily ever after.'  
  
Only now did her son notice Jasmine's presence, the wolf had seen her as soon as she'd appeared, 'Mummy!' Luna's going to tell me a story now!'  
  
Jasmine smiled, it was a game they often played with his toys up in his rooms. Such as, "Horsey's going to tell me a story tonight," and then she would take the specified toy and animate it on his bed as if it were telling the tale.  
  
She sat him on her lap and began, 'Well, Once Upon a Time...' But the little boy put his chubby fingers up to her lips.  
  
'Ssh, Mummy. It's Luna's turn.'  
  
The wolf shifted itself into a more comfortable position and, to Jasmine's utmost astonishment, began to speak in an odd singsong voice. 'It is a shame my good friend Arc isn't here for he would like this tale, it is called "The Pledge" and just like your story, little prince, it concerns not imaginary characters but those who lived many years ago. Their names have been lost in the passage of time but their names are not as important as what they did for two different races.  
  
'Long ago there was a great pack of wolves living in a dark forest far from here. The Lord who controlled the forest hated the wolves as they killed the deer and other game that the Lord himself wanted to hunt. So this Lord made a promise to exterminate all the wolves that dwelt on his land. This plan found favour with the villagers who wrongfully accused the pack of stealing their livestock and threatening their children and they banded together to eradicate the wolves from the region.  
  
'In those dark days many of the wolves were massacred, males, females and cubs, their heads being proudly displayed as trophies of a brave kill. One wolf alone escaped the slaughter and he fled to the mountains whilst his pursuers followed.  
  
'Those mountains were said to be a haunt of dragons, but the wolf thought that he would rather die at a dragons jaws than at the bows and clubs of his hunters.  
  
'One night the villagers caught up with him while he rested and the wolf ran into a cave to avoid being captured. In his panic he ran into a solid wall which grunted and moved. It froze the wolf's blood and he closed his eyes expecting either the snap of sabre-teeth or a burst of flame to end his life. When it didn't happen the wolf thought that the dragon was merely toying with him and making him think he was safe before snuffing out his life.  
  
'"You can open your eyes, little friend, they've gone."  
  
'The wolf did as he was asked and found himself looking into the most gentle pair of sapphire blue eyes he had ever seen. They seemed to catch every fragment of light. In their gaze the wolf felt very much at ease and felt duty-bound to apologise.  
  
'"I hope you don't mind me disturbing you, sir."  
  
'"Not at all, We are both in the same boat, apparently. Once my brothers ruled this entire region. All types of dragon lived here in peace. That was until the dwarves discovered the secret in our caves. They housed a great horde of quicksilver. Their greed drove them to kill all who called this once good place their home. Behemoth, the giant chieftain of the Fire dragons, made one final attempt to save our birthplace. This failed and now his bones stand as a monument and guardian to the Dwarf Mines, ever watchful for the return of his brethren. When he died we fled and are still being hunted to this day."  
  
'"Sir dragon, it is a familiar tale you tell. My entire family was murdered because we needed meat to survive and the men begrudged us the deer that we ate. We two must be the most maligned creatures in all the Nine Kingdoms."  
  
'"Alas, all our kind suffers the same fate. We should form a partnership."  
  
'"Why not? Let our agreement here spread through the generations," the possibilities of the suggestion sparkled in the wolf's golden eyes.  
  
'"Wolf and Dragon will become as brothers. When we find one of either kind in peril we will help them as we would one of our own. This shall be our Pledge and our purpose. At sunrise we will spread the word of this exchange so our species will become as one."  
  
'The wolf and the dragon talked until morning when daylight paled the coal black sky. They stepped into the rosy light and embraced like the brothers they were before turning to go their separate ways. The good wishes of their friend rang in their ears as they went to carry out their mission of telling all of the glorious pact which had been made that night. The wolf watched as his brother's great wings opened and he took flight, his mauve body merging seamlessly with the dawning sky. He, in his turn, took the harder way down the mountain and lived as a wanderer and a teacher of the Pledge.'  
  
Luna finished her tale just as the sun was setting and a chill wind blew, heralding the onset of autumn. Mother and son had sat spellbound as the wolf had spun her tale. Finally Wendell piped up with a question; "Did they live happily ever after?"  
  
"Their teachings and the Pledge have continued for generations, so in a way, yes they did."  
  
"Will you tell me more stories?"  
  
"Another day, my friend. I think it's time for your supper."  
  
Jasmine was grateful for the interlude, "Indeed it is, young man. Go indoors and see what's been made for you."  
  
Wendell was about to rush inside before he remembered his manners, "Thank you, Luna. I'll come back and see you again."  
  
"Little prince, if you ever get tired of being a king become a teller of tales. The wolves will appreciate your gift, trust me."  
  
With a last toothy grin the little boy ran in for his meal. Jasmine stayed a little longer as fascinated by Luna as her mother was.  
  
"Can I help you, Your Highness?" The constant stare of the woman made Luna feel uncomfortable, especially after the circus incident. Jasmine seemed at a loss for words, "Or shall I guess? You have never heard a wolf bard before?"  
  
"Well, no. To be honest I've never even heard a wolf speak."  
  
"Most wolves are much better than me, I'm really rather mediocre. And you don't need to fear - your son is in no danger with me. Wolves are not the vicious monsters we are believed to be. Was there anything else?"  
  
"No, thank you, wolf."  
  
"Luna, please, Your Highness." 


	7. The Tale of Tamarisk

Several weeks passed before the Queen returned. Luna was resting in the year's last glory before the winter set in fully, the silvery streaks in her hair being turned a fiery orange and the darker mass shining with health.  
  
The unusually loud sound of a coach and horses awakened her inquisitiveness. Normally the carriage stopped out the front of the castle but today it had driven round near the menagerie. Why? Her twitching nostrils told her before her eyes did. The delightful scent of wolf hit the back of her throat and made her mind reel, for, even better, it was the aroma of a male wolf which even annulled the powerful dungy stench of horse.  
  
The carriage was pulled to a halt. Luna could see him now, bound by the neck to the tailboard, panting heavily from exertion. His fur was an appealing tawny brown flecked with black, lightly at his head and darkening to the jet-black tip of his tail. Luna could hardly keep her tongue from lolling out in desire. Their eyes met, his inky pupils surrounded by yellow eyes deepening to rich rust at their edges melted Luna's heart entirely.  
  
Snow White stepped down from the coach helped by Beck who had come running to meet her when he saw that she was pulling into his section. He frowned when he saw the wolf lashed and trotting behind the carriage. When would this stop? He would have to humour her; she was the Queen of the Fourth Kingdom after all.  
  
'What do you think of him, then?'  
  
'Rather undernourished but otherwise quite a stunning creature.'  
  
'I bought him for Luna, see if it helps with her loneliness. And I'm sure we can feed him up a bit. Put him in and we'll leave them to it.'  
  
Beck had seem a problem that obviously Snow White hadn't, 'And if they do "get on" what will we do with the progeny?'  
  
'We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, Beck.'  
  
'As you wish, Your Majesty.'  
  
The male wolf was untied and pushed into the cage before the door was locked behind him; a single snarl was his parting shot. Luna took the typical stance of a pack leader whose territory has just been invaded. The haughty, dignified demeanour was just a mask, beneath the surface her pulse was racing and she didn't know how she kept herself from leaping on him in a fit of animal passion. She spoke the traditional words of the challenge; 'Why come ye hither to this, my territory?'  
  
The male wolf eyed her with a mixture of suspicion and amusement; 'You call this a territory?'  
  
'It is at least my own. And it is courtesy and tradition that you answer my question, sir.'  
  
The lion-coloured wolf rolled his eyes skyward as if seeking either patience or salvation, 'I comst hither through no fault of my own and beg thy permission to stay in thy humble abode.'  
  
Luna smiled at her companion, 'Granted, of course. It seems I have little choice in the matter. So, what is your story, wolf?'  
  
'The name is Tamarisk. You may call me Tamm, I prefer it. Why is it my turn to tell my tale?'  
  
'Because this is my refuge. The minimum payment you can give in payment for my hospitality is to tell me the account of your life.'  
  
'First I would like to know your name.'  
  
'Luna.'  
  
'Well, Luna, I was born and raised in a forest far from here but under the watch of the same stars. I grew up in seclusion, never straying far from the safety of the trees for fear for being discovered. I am sure you understand.'  
  
'I do indeed, My cubhood was very similar.'  
  
'One day when I was still quite young a child came into our forest picking the early strawberries. We ran and hid, as we had been taught to do, but this child didn't leave. I think it was lost. It screamed when it saw one of my older brothers in the undergrowth. When night fell we returned to our den. More men must have come in search of the child and by it must have learnt of our presence. Long story short, we were discovered and annihilated. Only I was left alive, I'll never know why, perhaps as a trophy I don't know, and I have spent the last three years of my life in a cage. You are the first wolf I have spoken to or even seen in all that time. I was on the verge of giving myself unto the Lady of the Moon when I was brought here. That is where my tale stops; the rest is yet to come.'  
  
Luna shook her head sadly, 'Only a wolfs' story could be so. It seems we have much in common, Tamarisk. I would be very happy to find out how much. You are most welcome here.'  
  
Luna's coy smile stirred up feelings that Tamm could barely remember, let alone in such vast quantities. The emotions were as deep as they were quick, there was no doubt about it, he was in love. The intensity manifesting itself in Luna's eyes let him know that the feeling was mutual.  
  
'Thank you, Luna. It truly is wonderful to feel welcomed and accepted for once, especially from one as enchanting as you.'  
  
The crescent moon rose over the couple who fully intended to honour the ancient tradition: Wolves mate for life.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
In the following weeks the two wolves learned many things together in their prison. They found out how their hearts sang to the joyous tune of true love. The confines of their jail seemed hardly noticeable, for as long as they were together no cage could hold their spirits. But most of all Tamm learned what it was to be a wolf again after so long being isolated. Many's the time their voices were heard harmoniously declaring their love and praising whatever divine entity had brought them together as one.  
  
The Fourth Kingdom was held fast in the icy grip of winter. Most greeted it with the bitter curses of an age-old enemy, as indeed it was. For the poorer folk it was a time of hardship and survival, especially those who could not afford much food. For all, despite these worries, it was a time of gathering around blazing wood fires and telling heroic tales to lift the spirits.  
  
Luna, on the other hand, hailed they first heavy fall of snow with positive delight. Snow had always held a special magic for her and she would often play in it for long hours as a cub. Stripped of all responsibilities and harbouring no worries about food or hunting and filled with the burning new energy of young love she became that mischievous cub again who jumped in the drifts and yelped with happiness as the cold made her skin tingle. Her mate blinked owlishly from the depths of the warm straw bed, which had become a lot chillier since Luna had decided to leave and roll like a mad dog in the freezing snow. Tamm was less than pleased when the female pressed her arctic hands against his face. He growled good- naturedly at her and snuggled further back into the straw.  
  
'Come on, Tamm. It's lovely out here. All cold and tingly.'  
  
'I prefer being warm and comfortable.'  
  
'Boring.'  
  
Luna left her partner to sleep while she dived back into the mounds with cries of elation. Throwing up great armfuls of snow she danced as the perfect flakes tumbled around her. She did it several times before the downfall seemed longer than before - the snow had begun again! Her rapture changed quickly to euphoria as she capered between the swirling shards of ice.  
  
The sight of the beautiful wolf that he loved gambolling like a mad March hare became too much of a temptation for Tamarisk to resist and he joined her, whirling like dervishes, paw in paw, their tails waving like dark banners in the purity of the unblemished landscape.  
  
Snow White watched them for a while and wondered at the imperviousness of youth before crossing the unsullied gardens to Arc's modest dwelling. When she got there the door was slightly ajar and the place was in darkness. 'Arc?' She pushed open the door. Nothing.  
  
She looked around the little stone hut that would have been cosy if it weren't for the cold and the gloominess. Candles were scattered at strategic positions, some half burned down, and others just a puddle of hardened wax, none alight. Books with titles such as "Dragon Lore", "Ancient Scripts" and "Tales of the Mountains" lined the walls. One lay open on the floor, Snow White bent down and picked it up, but she couldn't read a word as it was written in a strange language. The only other thing of substance, apart from the pictures and carvings adorning the floor and walls, was the bed - a pile of rags, fur and straw in a messy heap.  
  
Walking back outside she resumed her search for the dragon. The scene was most uplifting, the absolute purity of it quite taking her breath away. Strolling across the lawns she almost forgot why she had come out when the snow beneath her feet moved. Snow White shrieked and fell back on the freezing earth before bursting out with laughter. 'Arc! What are you doing out here?'  
  
The dragon stood up and shook the loose snow off his back, spraying the Queen liberally and leaving a perfect outline of himself in green against the white, and grinned at Snow White.  
  
'There's not been a fall like this in many a year. I wanted to enjoy it while it lasted. We often used to sleep out like this when I lived in the Northern Mountains with my clan. Ice flows in our very blood so a bit of cold snow doesn't worry us. We were always told to sleep in the snow to remind us of our origins.' As he helped her up Snow White noticed a glint of loneliness and homesickness in Arc's crystal-shard eyes.  
  
'You can always go back there, Arc. I won't mind.'  
  
'Thank you, but no. My duty is here, with you. When that task is over I might return to my birthplace, but for now my home is here.'  
  
They walked around the gardens marvelling at the perfection of the landscape in silence before Arc broke the stillness, 'How is my little friend?'  
  
'Luna? Happy, I believe. The male wolf has worked magic on her. You should see them,, they're playing like puppies in the snow.'  
  
'That's good.' Snow White caught the slight shadow of sorrow that darkened crystal-like, almond shaped eyes of the dragon.  
  
'What bothers you, Arc?'  
  
'I don't mean to be judgmental, but...'  
  
'It's the wolves, isn't it? You don't think I should have them.'  
  
'No I don't. I believe they should be as free as I am. All are born free. If I has not offered my services to you would you have done the same to me as you have to Luna and Tamm, or would I have been killed as an enemy?'  
  
'Really, you go too far!'  
  
'Do I? Is the honest truth too hard to bear?'  
  
The hot blood of fury burned Snow White's cheeks and flushed them crimson, 'Arc! Yes, as you have been honest with me I will be honest with you. You would have been killed as a threat to my people because of what we have suffered at the flames of your race. Maybe all are not the same but how do we know? It is the same with the wolves. Perhaps those two are not the monsters they are seen to be but how do the common folk know that? I understand my people better than you do, Arc, and I know what would happen to them in my Kingdom, let alone any other. By having them here I can protect two good creatures from the outside world and they can live in peace. I also get the pleasure of their company while they are here.'  
  
'But at what price? I'm sorry you see it that way, Your Majesty.'  
  
A few strong beats of his wings took the white dragon high over the castle and out of sight. Still seething with anger at the serpent's impudence, the Queen stormed back into the castle.  
  
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Even in the depths of winter the swamp remained unchanged. It was a world trapped in its own perpetual season. Green mist belched from oozing pools of thick stagnating liquid. Rotting vegetation gave off a rancid stench and made the whole realm under the verdant canopy as hot and as humid as high summer.  
  
In this derelict sphere dwelled a single exile. Her bare, disfigured feet often walked the spongy, odious ground in search of the noxious plants with which to make her potions and poisons. She had become known as the Swamp Witch but to most she would always be the Stepmother. No one knew her real name, which was just as well. She had grown old, so old, but it hardly mattered any more. Her successor was almost fully trained the arts that would make her great and now only one obstacle still stood in her way - Snow White. She had failed before but now she would surely succeed. One last revenge before she died. Christine could take care of the rest of the worthless family and keep her eminence alive.  
  
Apart from the travelling mirror she had kept one other in her dingy hovel, the seeking mirror. Diamond shaped and framed in black thorns, it had the power to find whatever she asked of it. 'Mirror, find me someone close to Snow White who would betray her.' The Stepmother was no idiot, she knew she couldn't defeat her step-daughter alone and would need the help of an insider.  
  
The mirror's reflective surface turned into a mass of boiling cloud before it slowly cleared to reveal the image of a female half-wolf in the snow, laughing and playing with a larger male.  
  
'A wolf? Is that the best you can do?'  
  
The picture distorted as the mirror's face appeared, 'The wolf is weak. If she is disappointed by Snow White she will join us unquestioningly,' the mirror's voice was hoarse and harsh.  
  
'But will that happen?' She doubted the current queen's foolishness, one who had escaped her wrath so many times must have either very good luck or fate on their side.  
  
'It is occurring as we speak. The wolf is a pet, and it angers her. One incident will push her over to our side.'  
  
'When will this event transpire?'  
  
'Soon, I do not know more.'  
  
'What is our compatriots name?'  
  
'Luna.'  
  
'Luna,' the Stepmother repeated the name, satisfied. The situation was so perfect. Her step-daughter would never suspect her own pet wolf of plotting against her.  
  
'Success, Your Majesty?' Christine had just come from the cellar where she had been mixing poisons. The young woman had such a talent for them that it almost made the instructor jealous.  
  
'Yes, my dear. We have found the partner who will help us kill Snow White.'  
  
. 


	8. The Great Escape

Their eyes shone like hot coals, making a mockery of the bitter cold all around them. Pure fire pumped through their bodies and the age-old hunting instinct had been transformed into desire. Tamm and Luna lay side by side, lost in each others eyes. The male reached out and touched the face that had brought him so much pleasure and peace. Her skin was as soft as the petal of a rose and their love blossomed anew every day like the same flower.  
  
The stars seemed to glow brighter than they ever had before in the infinite blackness of the night. The constellations after which her siblings were named stood out starkly, but not nearly as much as the moon, the great star, which was full, round and white as pure driven snow. The full moon and the winter solstice had converged making even the man with the slightest amount of wolf blood fly into a frenzy of hunger, hunting and happiness.  
  
Tamm bit Luna's ear gently before whispering softly into it, 'I love you, my Lady of the Moon.'  
  
Luna shoved her mate away playfully while laughing with him, 'Lady of the Moon? Get out of it, wolf!'  
  
The joyful wolf grabbed Luna's fluffed-out tail, making his sweetheart cry out and he pulled her back into his grasp, holding her fast, 'Come on, say it, you know you want to.'  
  
Luna wriggled free and stood facing him, her entire posture flirtatious and absolutely irresistible, 'You'll have to make me!'  
  
'Is that a challenge?'  
  
A flicker of devilishness flashed across the young wolfs' features, 'Think you can take me?'  
  
Never one to back down from a dare, Tamm pounced upon Luna, knocking her flat upon her back. Roaring with laughter the couple tumbled and rolled across the stone flags making a horrendous uproar which drew the attention of most of the court of Snow White. All of their hunting energy was put into the violent game, wrestling as they bit and snapped at each other.  
  
Panting with effort they grinned at their one true love for a few minutes until, their energy restored, they threw themselves back into the fray.  
  
By now the Queen, Beck, Jasmine, her husband and most of the castle staff and guards had gathered around the site of an apparently fierce and bloody battle being waged between the two wolves. Completely oblivious to the crowd, Luna and Tamm carried on.  
  
Panicked by the sights and sounds of the mortal combat, Snow White grabbed Beck by the sleeve, 'How do we stop them?'  
  
'There is only one way.' The Head Keeper snatched a crossbow from a sentry and aimed it at the duelling animals. Taking quick aim, Beck let the bolt fly with brutal force.  
  
His aim was true. The barbed shaft buried itself deep in Tamm's back. A look of faint surprise crossed his features as he looked down to see the metal head of the arrow emerging from a sanguinary gash in his chest: It had pierced him through. Tamm gave a small whimper of pain as he slumped to the floor. With a shriek of dismay, as the first trickle of her mate's blood stained her tunic, Luna screamed at the onlookers, 'What have you done to him?'  
  
She didn't need an answer. Tamm was reaching up to touch the face he had likened to a rose one last time before his life ebbed away. 'My Luna. Oh, my Luna...'  
  
Tears poured in a hot river down her grief-whitened cheeks. She caught hold of her dying lovers paw and kissed it as he stroked her dark hair, 'Don't leave me, my love. Please don't go.' But his breathing was already shallow and his once-beautiful amber eyes were misted and dull.  
  
The passion of love flowed away with her tears and ice crept through her veins, plunging her into a pit far deeper and darker than ever before. Rage replaced sorrow and a set of shining ivory teeth came fully into sight as two of the junior keepers tried to enter her cell to remove the body of Tamarisk. The expression of pure madness on her face made them recoil in terror.  
  
No one noticed the white wraith who had observed the scene with growing despondency and now realised it was time to take matters into his own claws. Gliding off the castle roof he landed as lightly as a ghost at the back of the congregation and barged his way forward to Luna's cage.  
  
'Let me in.'  
  
'It's gone mad, it's far too dangerous.'  
  
'Do it.'  
  
The furious expulsion of air from his nostrils made the keeper's hand turn blue with cold. He cried out in pain, dropping the keys. Arc snatched them and unlocked the door himself. 'Luna, it's me, Arc. You're safe with me, Luna, I won't hurt you any more.'  
  
Her look was one of blank lunacy. Every human aspect had perished, leaving only an animal in the corner, fighting for self-preservation.  
  
'Luna, will you let me take Tamm away? I'll do everything he needs to pass to the skies.' Reaching down to lift the limp body, an outraged cross between a snarl and a screech escaped the manic wolfs' lips and she launched herself at the dragon, her teeth crunching down on Arc's arm with brutal force. The bystanders gasped in surprise.  
  
Arc grimaced in pain and let it out in a short grunt. For a moment neither moved. Luna's fangs had bitten deep and blood was seeping from the wound and creating its own shining, frozen pool on the stony ground. With his free arm Arc gently took hold of Luna's shoulders and gathered her to him in a comforting embrace. Racked with sobs, Luna released her grip and buried her head against the dragon's belly scales.  
  
'Luna, you must listen to me now. There is nothing more you can do for Tamm. Will you let me take over now and do what's left to be done? As a friend, as a brother, will you let me do this?'  
  
'But...' Luna's bloodshot, tearstained eyes turned to the gawkers, amongst them was a strange, black-hooded figure, His tail and phosphorescent eyes were all too obvious. She had seen Him before when she was only a young cub, but only now did she realise who He was. He who had told her that her Grandfather had died. She started shivering and her eyes grew wide with fear.  
  
'What is it, Luna?'  
  
The terror-stricken face of the wolf told Arc all he needed to know, he shook her to bring her back to her senses, 'Where is He?'  
  
She pointed to an empty space in the gathering with a quivering hand. Many looked in the same direction, but, like the dragon, they saw nothing.  
  
'What is it, what can she see?' the Queen was as intrigued as the rest.  
  
'She is one of the few who can see Death,' he said simply. The giant reptile's attention reverted back to the petrified creature who was still staring frozen at the dark figure who no one else could see. Grabbing her, he forcefully wrenched her gaze from Him. 'He's not come for you, do you understand me? Listen, Luna! He's not come for you!'  
  
'He's gone,' she sighed with relief.  
  
Arc fought to bring her attention back to the matter in hand, 'They won't have anything to do with Tamm. Only I will touch him, I promise.'  
  
Luna finally nodded her consent. Wrapping his ice-blue wings around her, he whispered secret healing words which were for her ears only. When they folded back the wolf seemed stronger, but more bitter.  
  
'You will... won't you?'  
  
'I'll take care of everything, I give you my word.'  
  
Arc took the spent body of Tamarisk in his arms. Luna touched her only loves' forehead with her nose before he was borne away. The door was slammed in her face by the keepers for fear that she would escape - they had not forgotten their fright earlier.  
  
The dragon walked at a funereal pace whilst hissing at the spectators, 'Don't touch him.' He flicked Beck sharply on the leg with his muscular tail, making the trigger-happy warden hop about in agony.  
  
The last sight Luna had of her life-partner was his slack black-tipped tail and his blood that still dripped crimson from the white-feathered shaft and she howled. Where once two voices had sang in harmony now only one howled out a single lament.  
  
No one saw the black figure follow the white dragon with his sorry burden.  
  
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The Stepmother laughed aloud in joy when she watched Luna's heart being ripped to shreds with the murder of her mate through the mirror. She had been betrayed by Snow White, just as the faithful mirror had predicted. Now it was only a case of offering the wolf everything she desired to turn her heart completely, but first it was best to let despair wither her spirit.  
  
It felt good to be back on familiar ground. The fact that it had once all been hers before being snatched away by that bothersome brat made her blood boil. Walking across the frosted grass she gritted her teeth and thought again of the revenge and rise to power that would soon all be hers. The black woollen cloak was drawn closer around her emaciated body, for the chill wind bit right to the bone.  
  
Reaching the inner gardens, she caressed the ice-glazed thorns of the rose that she had planted on the day when she had become Queen of the Fourth Kingdom. It had grown strong and resilient over the years, but now, even in deep winter, its branches showed signs of budding, a sure sign of her impending success. Come summer it would bloom with blood-red flowers. Very few in the world understood the power of the rose. Without it she would have died long ago. As long as it survived so would she.  
  
The menagerie was in sight now, and so were a pair of hostile, reflective emerald eyes roving up and down the enforced boundary. The Stepmother knew wolfs' eyes glowed green at night.  
  
'Luna, Luna!'  
  
The voice that answered her was harsh, devoid of any sentiment or cheer, perfect, ' Who is it? What do you want?'  
  
'Luna!'  
  
'Mother? Mira, is that you?'  
  
'Listen to me, Luna.'  
  
'Who are you?' Luna was now severely irritated by this person who apparently knew her but would not show herself.  
  
This sharp edge on the wolfs' voice convinced the Stepmother to come out of the shadows, 'You are angry, Luna. Surely you are mot bored here in this fine palace?'  
  
'What would you know?'  
  
'I know much, Shadow of the Moon. I know what it is to be you, to be hated and feared, reviled wherever you go.'  
  
'How can you know how I feel? You are not a wolf. Who are you?'  
  
'A long time ago I was Queen.'  
  
The realisation dawned on Luna, 'You are Snow White's stepmother.'  
  
'I am she.'  
  
'You earned your revulsion. I did nothing.'  
  
'You can help me, Luna. I need you.'  
  
'What do you need me for?'  
  
'You are an intelligent wolf and I have a job to finish.'  
  
She was not wrong in saying that Luna was clever, the plan had already revealed itself in the wolfs' sharp brain and she was disgusted by it, 'I would rather die innocent of any crime but injustice than give all wolves a bad name in murder and regicide.' Luna turned her black back to the antediluvian, embittered woman, her tail held high in defiance.  
  
'But I can help you and your family. I can set you free.'  
  
Luna stopped short. This offer had just become more interesting, 'How?'  
  
The Stepmother smiled, she had found the weakness in Luna's solid façade and now all she had to do was gouge the wound open and she would have the wolf at her mercy, 'If you help me I can protect them all. They will always be safe. All you have to do to keep them from the village pyres and hunter's bows is to say that you will help me. You will have the freedom to join them. That's all. Believe me, they will thank you.'  
  
Luna chewed on her lip until it bled. If she joined the Stepmother her and her family would be free, safe, no longer having to skulk in forests always living in fear. But. An image haunted her, blocking out all elements of guilt. Her last memory of her mate for life, dead, limp, blood dripping from the arrow which had snuffed out his life and the Queen who had stood by and watched it happen. Now she could take her retribution for Tamm. Her eyes were as hard as flint when she answered, 'What do you want me to do?'  
  
'Swear you allegiance to me.'  
  
The howl that erupted from Luna's throat was long, loud and brutal. The Stepmother beamed with joy, it had all been so easy, 'Good wolf, I will speak to you again another night.'  
  
The Stepmother melted back into the darkness from whence she had come, leaving Luna to think over what she had just gotten herself into.  
  
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Early next morning, as dawns pale fingers crept stealthily over the horizon, Snow White was already awake and prepared for her journey. The new light coloured her chambers in pale pink, so beautiful and peaceful as the Queen mused on a decision she hoped she wouldn't regret. Her planned tour of the Fourth Kingdom was about to begin as scheduled, but for one minor change; she was taking Luna with her. She ran the thick suede collar through her fingers and wondered once more if she was doing the right thing and, more importantly, how Luna would react. Summoning the courage to face those cold, golden eyes, Snow White descended the marble staircase into the shimmering rose-tinted world of daybreak.  
  
Luna had not slept at all well. Her dreams had been troubled by thoughts of murder, blood and treachery. More than once in the few short hours she had tried to rest, she had woken with her heart racing and her skin pouring cold sweat. She had since given up and settled down to watch the dawn pale the stars from the sky.  
  
The stench of new leather assailed her nostrils, along with the more subtle but still distinct scent of the Queen's expensive perfumes. Why did the full-bloods have to make everything so odorous and block out all of natures' more delicate and infinitely more beautiful fragrances? She waited calmly for Snow White to come to her, she could hardly do anything else.  
  
'What do you want?' Her tone was curt and icy.  
  
Snow White came into view behind Luch and Orageuse, the lynxes', cage. There was something definitely shifty about her attitude that made Luna narrow her eyes with suspicion.  
  
'How did you know I was here?'  
  
'Even if you weren't wearing such odoriferous perfume, you still wouldn't be able to hide from my nose.'  
  
'That's quite impressive.'  
  
'That being so, you can't keep secret whatever leather thing it is you're concealing. Just come out with it. I'm in no mood for games.'  
  
The production of the tawny leather and brass collar twisted Luna's vaguely annoyed expression into a disgusted sneer. Her lip curled as her gaze passed from the collar to Snow White. 'What're you gonna do with that?'  
  
'I'm going on a tour of my Kingdom. I'd like you to come with me.'  
  
'Is that a request or an order?'  
  
'A request, naturally.'  
  
Luna doubted this, yet her opportunistic nature came to the fore, along with one strong reservation; 'If I come with you do I have to wear that?'  
  
'Can't have you disappearing without a trace and getting lost in strange country, can we?'  
  
'No, no, of course not.'  
  
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It was dusk before the carriage came to a halt outside an inn. It was a passion of the Queen to mingle with the Kingdomfolk on these excursions.  
  
The moustached innkeeper stared through the diamond-paned window in amazement, 'Bette, come over here, quickly!'  
  
The plump woman waddled over, wringing a towel in her hands, 'What is it, Owen?'  
  
'It's Snow White, I'd stake my life on it!'  
  
'Don't be silly. What would she be doing here?'  
  
'Look, Bette!'  
  
With a disbelieveing grunt, the innkeeper's wife glanced through the window. Her eyes grew wide with shock and her hands flew up to her face involuntarily, 'Oh my. What will we do? Will she stay? Do we have anything good enough for her?'  
  
'Calm down, love. If things aren't to her liking there's nothing we can do about it now. Still, let's be polite and meet her.'  
  
From the first sight Snow White liked the look of the Red Bear Inn. It was small and homely looking, far removed form the grandeur of the castle that she had left only two days previously. The innkeeper and his wife were just as she had imagined them to look like - the man was fairly tall was fairly tall with short dark hair spattered with grey and a silver handlebar moustache. His wife was short and comely, fiery red hair dragged back into a bun.  
  
'Welcome to the Red Bear, Your Majesty. I'm Owen Goodlea and this is my wife, Bette. What can we do to serve you?  
  
'I am looking for rooms for the night for both myself and my staff.'  
  
'Of course. We have many suites to choose from. Will you be dining this evening?'  
  
'I wouldn't say no.'  
  
'We have stabling for your horses over...' Bette stopped in mid-sentence. It was not only horses they needed to shelter. She had just caught sight of Luna and her rosy cheeks drained of their colour.  
  
'Is there a problem?' The change had not gone unnoticed by Snow White. Bette pointed a shaking finger at the wolf who was standing calmly behind the carriage taking stock of the air and all the new scents it carried. Her pent-up energy and frustration had been run off by journeying, which came as naturally to her as howling. 'You needn't worry about Luna. If you have a free stable she will be perfectly comfortable in there. There is no need for her to enter your beautiful inn.'  
  
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The stable was dry and warm. A thick bed of straw had been laid and thoroughly explored with every sense, along with every possible avenue of escape. It would have been easy but for the heavy chain which led from Luna's collar to the ring halfway up the stable wall.  
  
Luna huffed, not only was the collar uncomfortably new and the chain clanked every time she moved, but she couldn't even see the stars. The bowl of meat scraps remained untouched as Luna's appetite was diminished by the thought that there was nothing else to do besides eat. Tonight anyway.  
  
The first clue of a visitor was a strong, acrid odour. This was closely followed by a small, dark nose poking under the door, complete with twitching whiskers and the tips of large fangs peeking out from under the newcomer's lips. This quickly withdrew and a thickly accented voice came in its stead; 'Heya, wolfsie. Ya got food in der?'  
  
She could hardly contain her excitement at the presence of the visitor, whoever he was, 'Yes, and you're welcome to share it.'  
  
'Ya won't 'urt us, wills ya, wolfise?'  
  
'Of course not, ferret. Come in.'  
  
A chocolate masked head with two jet-black, intelligent eyes entered through the small gap before it was followed by the sinuous mahogany body. It was a large hob polecat. He made straight for the meat before turning back to Luna, 'Ya don't mind, does ya, wolsfie?'  
  
'No, no, go ahead. I have no appetite for it.'  
  
The ferret needed no second bidding and went at it with a will. Gulping down great chunks of meat, he continued until his hunger was satisfied. A quick pink tongue delicately licked the remains of the meal from his creamy face and long, wicked eyeteeth. 'T'anks, wolfise. Wassa name, huh?'  
  
It took Luna a few moments to decipher the skinny creature's rich accent before she replied, 'I'm Luna. You're quite welcome to stay if you want to. I'd appreciate the company.'  
  
'I's Furo. Lotsa wolveses Luna, lotsa firrits Furo,' he shrugged his bony shoulders and grinned widely, 'I'll stay awhile. Have a chat. Wolveses okay, no harm to firrits. Whya here, Luna? You's a pris'ner or is a.' The polecat trailed off in mid-sentence, but Luna knew what he wanted to say.  
  
'A pet? Yes, I suppose I am, Furo.'  
  
'Furo know. Once Furo slave too. Man catch him when a kit, a babby, put down hole, scare out bonnies fer man, yeh? Furo kept in liddle box, fed scraps, bad job. Men put collar on me like dat, yeh?' Furo pointed a sharp little claw at Luna's neck, and the leather band that encircled it. 'Liddle bell, go ding-ding-ding when I move so dey hear him hunt unnerground.  
  
'Furo bad firrit, he bite and scratch alla men alla time. One day bite man real deep, straight to bone. Hurt me teeth, I tell ya dat, wolfsie! Bleeded loads, all over place. Drop Furo, bang, like dat.' The ferret thumped a clawed paw on the solid stone floor, 'I make getaway quick, straight downa hole. Collar stick on root, pull hard, came over ears. Furo free firrit! Travel far, good life, yeh?'  
  
Furo cocked his masked head to one side and looked at the wolf with his bright raven eyes. A lump caught in Luna's throat as she fought back the tears. She had known that life well - it was good - only now did she appreciate how good it had been, living free with her family, hunting freely in the forests. The memory of her final night of freedom, running with her family at her side, chasing the deer. The fiery passion of the hunt was full upon her as they ran the hind down. She had dodged and jumped to avoid them, turning this way and that seeking an escape from the questing, deadly fangs. Separated from her herd she panicked and span on the spot to elude Sirius' snapping jaws. That was when she struck. Leaping high, her teeth closed tight on the doe's throat. The vital artery punctured, she gave a final kick and lay still. Luna's bloody maw raised to the moon and howled out the fierce song of triumph to the Goddess of the Hunter. It was the proudest moment of her life: Her first kill.  
  
It was a life she would never experience again, or if she did it would come at a heavy price. Her heart sank deep into her breast. The ferret patted her hand with his chocolate brown paw. 'Doncha worry, Luna. You help Furo, he help you now. Getcha collar off no problem. No chain gonna hold my friend when Furo here. 'Old still now, let me get on.'  
  
The amicable polecat climbed up onto the wolfs' back and set his sharp little teeth to the suede collar. In-between sessions he kept up a steady stream of conversation. 'You ever hunt chicken, Luna?'  
  
'No. What's it like?'  
  
'Is good sport. Lotsa feathers, lotsa birds, lotsa skill, lotsa fun. Bird here, bird there, birds everywhere - flap flap flap, bite bite. Good meat, but big danger wi' men 'round, mi friend.'  
  
'It sounds great.'  
  
'Oh yeah. We hunt together sometime mebbe?'  
  
'I'd like that. Have you ever tasted lamb?'  
  
'Nah. Firrit small, unlike wolfsies. Not as warlike as mink. Too big fer firrit to kill.'  
  
'Ah, you're missing out, friend. It's so sweet and tender. Ah, me!'  
  
'Ya caught fer that?'  
  
'It's what I was accused of, but that time I was innocent.' A small grin broke through the veil of self-pity.  
  
'Not fair, at least catcha when ya guilty!'  
  
'Same with you, Furo. Still, you got out.'  
  
'You too, was easy.'  
  
The collar fell from Luna's neck, completely frayed and torn by the ferret's needle-like teeth. She bounded up in delight, Furo clawing wildly at her back, trying to maintain a grip. He fell backwards into the thick pile of straw with a giggle.  
  
'Thank you, thank you, Furo. If there is anything, anything at all, that I can do for you, just name it - it's done!'  
  
The ferret emerged blinking and beaming widely from ear to ear from the dusty mound. His tail fluffed out like a sprig of rosemary and his back arched as he pranced and capered with the jubilant wolf. 'Not out of the woods, mate. Let's get outta here.'  
  
Furo slipped through his entrance hole while Luna fiddled with a piece of thick straw, trying to release the latch which held the stable door shut. Her efforts become more frenzied when the outraged squeals of her musteline friend reached her pricked ears.  
  
Bursting open the door, the sight that met her eyes made them flash dangerously yellow. Her diminutive saviour was suspended from his shoulders by a young human boy with lank, greasy auburn hair and crooked teeth. Furo screamed and paddled at the air in fury. Her blood burned hot as she lost control of her temper and pounced on the ferret's captor.  
  
The stable-lad never knew what hit him. One moment he was praising his lucky stars at catching a fine poaching ferret with plenty of spirit, the next he was laying on his back on the hard cobbles with a mad, fierce animal standing over him, breathing heavily and looking ready for the kill.  
  
'Run, now, before I kill you,' it rasped between its razor-sharp teeth. The boy ran as fast as his panic-spurred legs would carry him. 'Come now, friend, before it's too late,' Luna gathered her lithe partner into her arms.  
  
The ferret felt tenderly at his broken fang and numerous cuts and bruises on the left side of his face where he had been dropped on the stones, 'Ya scary beast, Luna. Glad I's yer friend, not yer enimy. Knows why they keeps ya locked up now. Cha, they don't stand a chance when we's partners.' His conspiratorial wink turned into a wince of pain, just moving hurt his torn and bloody face.  
  
'Don't worry, mate, they won't get you while I'm around.'  
  
The stable bell rang out loud and continuously, sounding the alarm. Along with it came a cry of dismay. The stable yard gate was locked tight! Luna had hoped only a simple wooden bar would hold it shut, but a heavy lock held it fast. 'No! No, I have not come this far to be beaten by a stupid wooden door!' The wolf punctuated each word with a blow to the solid gates, her madness and anger growing with each impact.  
  
'Luna!' Furo squeaked, cutting through his friend's concentration. She whirled round to face the intrepid five coming towards her, intent on her capture. She pushed the polecat into a drainage channel.  
  
'Go, Furo. If they get me they won't get you too. I'll see you again.'  
  
The expression on Luna's face dissolved any thought of argument, 'Right. You int seen the last of dis firrit. Bye fer now.'  
  
His brush tail was Luna's last sight of her musteline companion. Her would-be captors had surrounded the wolf. Luna's eyes glowed warlike fervid orange and a wild snarl rumbled through her bared teeth making the men take a step backwards. 'Cowards are you? Five of you can't take one wolf? Come on, little boys, or are you afraid of getting hurt?' The men were stung by the insults but wary of the expression of pure untamed insanity in the wolfs' expression. 'Hah, your blood's not even worth spilling, you craven scum.'  
  
Such abuse coming from the one animal most despised by human kind was what provoked the desired response. They charged together wielding their makeshift weapons - only boards of wood and old coach reins. Luna laughed maniacally as the warrior wolf blood rushed to her brain and clouded her senses, blotting out everything but the sights, sounds and smells of battle.  
  
The men weren't fools. They kept a fair distance from the ripping fangs that sought their very life blood, flicking out with the reins and striking with the improvised clubs, however this just served to make the wolf crazier with the pain, her eyes deepening to crimson. Even though heavily outnumbered Luna still put up a tidy fight rending many with her tiny ivory battle-blades and tasting the vital, forbidden fluid that spilled and mixed with the dust. It was a conflict that she couldn't win no matter how hard she fought. One sharp-witted individual threw a handful of dust into her maddened eyes. While she pawed desperately to clear the stinging grit from her vision, one man crept up behind her and struck the back of her head savagely with a wooden spar.  
  
Luna slumped like a forsaken rag-doll on the cobbles, her last picture being the silhouette of the Queen watching the entire spectacle without a word, before the merciful darkness of unconsciousness covered her completely like the protective wing of a mother dragon.  
  
. 


	9. Fields of Gold

The dark veil smothering Luna's senses was slowly lifting. The light was thankfully dim, and from the sounds and scents she could tell that it was raining lightly, and that she was somewhere sheltered. The world smelled fresh and new. The pain in the back of her head was intense and throbbed incessantly, yet a tender hand stroked her brow, making the ache subside. So that was it - the villagers hadn't captured her after all - it had all been a vivid nightmare. She was surely back in the home she had always known and her mother was comforting her out of the terrors of the delirium of her accident that had happened while hunting. She grunted contentedly; 'Mama,' and rolled more onto her side in her accustomed sleeping position. She stretched her bruised body complacently as the caress moved to her ear root, a sensitive and pleasurable spot. A tickle on the tip of her ear gave the irresistible desire to itch. It was now that she realised something was horribly wrong. Every time she moved a paw the opposite one jerked like a puppet on a string, following every unknowing command with a lifeless motion. Opening her heavy eyes, Luna gaped at her strangely-behaving paws. She yelped and jumped with fright, falling off the carriage seat onto her swollen side.  
  
Snow White had been keeping a personal eye on Luna ever since they had left the Red Bear. It pained her to see the prostrate form being loaded onto the carriage like a piece of luggage. She had insisted on keeping the wolf with her, despite the risks it posed to her personal safety. On this part journey it had been the first time she had been able to examine Luna properly - every scar, every blemish, every silver hair amongst the black, the fangs that were so capable of dealing death with every snap of the powerful jaws - and she had found so many human attributes that she had never noticed before. It gave her a rare thrill to feel this dangerous wild creature relax under her hand as she began to come round, yet with it came a deep feeling of guilt. Luna's sleeping face looked so much like Jasmine's when she was young. Once she could have even sworn she said, "Mama." The reaction of Luna as she awoke startled Snow White as much as it did the wolf.  
  
The dread and unfamiliarity in Luna's eyes, like a child awaking from a graphic nightmare, brought the motherly nature of the Queen to the surface, 'Ssh, Luna, it's all right. The danger's over, you're safe now.  
  
Luna's terror transformed into a mixture of denial and dejection. Tears sprang to her bloodshot eyes and her head shook from side to side as she pressed as she pressed herself against the farthest side of the claustrophobic coach. The nightmare had come true, 'No, no, it can't have happened. No, it can't.' The change was severely distressing.  
  
Snow White held out her hand, 'Come on, Luna. Sit down.' But Luna had reverted to the mad, terrified animal she had found in a circus beast- wagon. Backing off as far as she possibly could, she grimaced as if expecting punishment. Just as she was about to reason with the wolf, disaster struck. The carriage wheels hit a fallen branch, jolting the passengers sharply. Luna was thrown off-balance and tumbled backwards against the door. The handle clicked open against the weight of the falling wolf, sending Luna plunging out of the door with a wail. She had disappeared into a field of yellow rape with the force of the fall before the carriage had a chance to stop.  
  
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It was midnight before Luna was found. A mist had fallen on the land, plastering Luna's hair flat against her skin. Her leather leash had caught on an old tree root, but she had made no attempt to untangle it. She had been standing in the same spot for hours, staring vaguely at the hazy stars, her face filthy and streaked with tears.  
  
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Her jarring descent from the raised road continued unchecked as she cut a pathway through the golden flowers. Bruises had been made on top of bruises when the madcap roll finally slowed and halted.  
  
'Quick, find it before it goes too far.'  
  
Still dazed and dizzy from the fall, Luna stumbled off into the golden swathes of rape, leaving a less obvious trail in her wake. She didn't stop until the sobs had made it impossible for her to breathe. Her whole head was a swirling mass of confusion. Nothing seemed right at all. Suddenly overcome with light-headedness, she dropped to her knees and vomited into a small rut.  
  
'Have you been hurt, my dear?' The voice was polite and formal. Luna's head twisted from side to side, trying to locate the speaker, yet her eyes seemed to travel slower than the rest of her senses and her vision was blurred and bleary. Finally she closed them to ward off the giddiness that engulfed her.  
  
'Who said that?'  
  
'I'm down here, missy.' At her feet was a small dark-coloured mouse. His eyes were white and sightless and he had no tail. 'Are you hurt?'  
  
'I don't know. I'm all confused, I.'  
  
'Say no more. I can scent it on the air. It's your head, isn't it? Don't worry, my dear, a bit of rest and you'll be right as this fresh spring rain.'  
  
'But what's wrong with me?'  
  
'It's called concussion, my dear. Just a little side effect of that nasty bump on your head.'  
  
Luna's eyes had finally caught up with her head and she trusted herself to open them. She examined the mouse more closely; his fur was a deep grey- blue, flecked with white on his flanks, and an ivory belly. Hid formal manner was surprising for a rodent and he was unusually intelligent.  
  
'This sickness, is that part of it too?'  
  
'Yes, it'll pass.'  
  
'Who are you?'  
  
'Ah, so sorry, terribly rude of me. I'm Souris, last of the Blind Mice Brothers. You're half-human, and female, that much I can tell.'  
  
'It seems odd to be called half-human instead of half-wolf.'  
  
'But which side do you favour, friend?'  
  
It was a question Luna had never been asked, but the answer was nonetheless forthcoming, 'I don't know, wolf I guess.'  
  
'Why?' Souris' blind eyes stared at her ardently.  
  
'I suppose because I am accepted by other wolves as what I am, where as the human side wants something more, and can never be welcomed by other full-bloods because of the wolf.'  
  
'So you still think of yourself as a wolf, despite your mixed heritage.'  
  
'How do you know?'  
  
'Let's just say when a creature is blind, he cannot make a visual first- impression. I may not be able to read script, but I can read other creatures like a book. That's why I'm glad you favour your lupine half. Humans can be more, how shall I put it, unpredictable. A wolf has courage and honesty, where as a human can feed you a slice of the finest cheese one minute and chop your tail off the next!' Souris fell to grooming himself.  
  
Luna picked up more than a hint of irony in this speech, but eventually remembered her manners, 'I'm the one being rude now. My name's Luna, daughter of Ara and Polaris. Oh dear!' She gasped and vomited again into the rut.  
  
'Rest here, my dear. You'll be quite safe. I must be on my way now. Look after your little ones, teach them what you told me and don't go getting into too many scrapes, eh?'  
  
With a cheery wink of one of his purblind eyes Souris scampered off into the golden field, his sensitive whiskers guiding him faultlessly through the swaying stalks. Luna stared after him, speechless at the startling revelation he had given her. One by one the stars lit up the sky like tiny candles. The wolf looked up at them gratefully, savouring the serene feeling of happiness and maternal pride as she felt her belly with wonder at the tiny lives already growing there. She could almost see her Tamm playing with them in the golden field. Her eyes glowed with new vigour and, more importantly, hope as she wept tears of joy. When she was finally found she made no protest as she was led back to the carriage.  
  
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Spring was well advanced when the entourage returned to the castle. Luna had seen with new eyes the blossoms and burgeoning beauty of the season, which was in full swing as much inside her body as outside of it. She could feel them kicking and stirring now, one especially during the full moon. That one was going to be trouble, no doubt.  
  
The new collar around her neck seemed of little hindrance when the chain was loosed from the carriage in the castle grounds. Snow White smiled benignly as the wolf sped away with all the loose-limbed grace of wolf and youth combined, cherry blossom falling around her like snow in May. Her daughter and grandson had come out to greet her, the young boy latching onto her flowing skirt. Snow White scooped him into her arms. 'And how are you, young man? My, you've got big since I've been away.'  
  
'I'm fine, Gran'ma. Is Luna back?'  
  
'Yes, I think she's gone to say hello to Arc. Do you want to see what I brought back for you?'  
  
The juvenile Prince Wendell jumped about with delight as Snow White presented him with a beautifully carved wooden horse, with a complete leather bridle and saddle. He ran off to flourish his new toy. 'You didn't have to, he's got enough toys.' Jasmine chided her mother gently.  
  
'I saw it and couldn't resist. He's my only grandson after all.'  
  
'I know. I would've done the same thing myself. Did you enjoy your trip?'  
  
'It's been nice, although I'm beginning to feel my age.'  
  
'Well, you're not a young woman any more. And, the wolf?'  
  
'Found a new peace. It's been a good experience for both of us.'  
  
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The sun was high and warm, resplendent weather for mid-May being almost as hot as July. Light shimmered invitingly off the surface of an ornamental lake in the castle grounds, the only ripples breaking the glassy stillness were those emanating from the back of the swimming wolf. Unable to withstand the appeal of the temperate water, she slid noiselessly into it, relishing the coolness of it, unaware of the unblinking eyes watching her from the weed-meshed depths.  
  
Propelled by its thick tail, the creature accelerated towards the dappled sunlight, breaking the surface in a cascade of shining droplets and breaking clear of the lake. Luna shrieked as the reptilian form crashed down beside her. She lashed out at the grinning, horn-surmounted head bobbing like an iceberg in the calm water, 'What did you do that for?'  
  
Both wolf and dragon burst into gales of laughter, splashing water at each other like children before settling down into a comfortable swimming pace. Luna used all four limbs whilst Arc tucked his legs into his body and swam like a crocodile, the thin sheet of ice that formed around him cracking as he powered along.  
  
'You enjoyed your journey, then?'  
  
'I ran off some of my pain.'  
  
'And you made a pleasant discovery.'  
  
'How do you know?'  
  
'Oh, come off it, Luna. I knew you were pregnant as soon as I saw you grinning like a daft duck at the edge of the lake.' The dragon's voice was devoid of any scrap of jubilation or joy.  
  
'What's wrong, Arc, you're worried?'  
  
'This has made you so happy, but I don't know if you realise what this means, what could happen.'  
  
'Like?'  
  
'The might take your cubs away, Luna.' His eyes were sorrowful, he had seen it all before.  
  
'Why?'  
  
'Because they're not in their plan. Wolf cubs are of no consequence to them.'  
  
Luna's face set like granite, 'I won't let that happen. You know I won't.'  
  
'Damn it, Luna. When will you wake up and grasp the fact that you're not in control here. They can do what they want, with both you and your little ones. While we remain wolves and dragons we will always lose. Too many have died, and died horribly, in the attempt to rectify the situation. This is the world into which your cubs will be born.'  
  
'Not if I can help it.' She backed water and swam in the opposite direction so the dragon would not see the salty tears that spilled into the lake.  
  
'Luna, there's a banquet tonight. Don't do anything you might regret,' Arc yelled after her before submerging to let the waters wash away the uncomfortable anxiety in the pit of his stomach.  
  
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Night fell quickly and without warning. From a hidden vantage point Luna had watched the steady stream of guests arrive in their grand carriages drawn by teams of sleek, arrogant horses - Lords, Ladies, Dukes, Duchess, Viscounts and visiting Royalty.  
  
The food being prepared made her salivate, even at a distance the odours finding their way to her sensitive nose - spiced chicken, fresh fish and lamb - oh the lamb! Gently spit roasted over a fire, taking in every juice and flavour. Luna closed her eyes in rapture, fighting the gobbets of spittle that threatened to roll down her chin. Having already been chased away twice from the kitchens, it was pointless trying to gain entry a third time - for now anyway.  
  
In her short period of freedom around the castle ground, Luna had discovered many hidden nooks and crannies. Suddenly bored of watching the arrival of the visiting aristocracy, Luna shook free of the fallen blossoms and left to take another scout round the kitchens, just to see if anyone had been careless enough to leave any food about.  
  
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A series of yelps and a rapid scuffling of paws brought the awareness of Luna's futile third attempt to gain unlawful access to the castle kitchens to Snow White. It was an hour before the due start of the banquet and the guests were already dancing in the Ballroom. Upon noticing that her mother was missing, Princess Jasmine excused herself and slipped away to find her. When she entered Snow White's chambers, she saw the missing Queen staring wistfully over the balcony.  
  
The revelations of that fateful March morning in the carriage had haunted Snow White. Perhaps after all her judgement had been as clouded as Becks'. She had only seen the wolf and not the woman.  
  
'Mother?'  
  
She had been so deep in thought that she had not even noticed her daughter's entrance. Smiling, she took Jasmine's hands and led her over to the balcony rail.  
  
'What do you see down there?'  
  
Luna was now in full view, a torrent of ribald curses emanating effortlessly from her lips aimed at the vigilant catering staff who threw small, hard, round potatoes at her retreating tail at every opportunity.  
  
Jasmine looked disdainfully down her nose on the cussing animal, 'A wolf without a curb on her foul tongue.'  
  
Snow White shook her head reproachfully, 'Look again. At first I saw her as you did when you first saw her, as a beautiful little creature I wanted to own. Since spending time with her alone I discovered something, something I think few ever dare to see. Look at her face, no not her eyes, her face. Is that the face of a vicious beast, a wolf? No. That is the face of a troubled young woman, plagued by fate and despised by all. Alas, I begin to think of that young woman as a daughter, almost as much as I do you.'  
  
Daughter hugged Mother tightly. 'Let's see if she is worthy of such an honour, for I'm not sure that I am. We always have too much, anyway. I'm sure one more place at the table won't make much difference. What do you reckon, is she about my size?'  
  
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Luna was shocked when a door opened next to her and she was beckoned inside by the bejewelled hand of the Princess Regent Jasmine.  
  
'Come on. We've got a surprise for you.'  
  
'As long as it's not my head on a wall I don't mind.'  
  
Filled with suspicion, Luna followed her up to the Queen's chambers. Upon entering, she saw Snow White standing beside a long red velvet dress with a conspiratorial smile hovering about her lips.  
  
'What's all this about?'  
  
'Cinderella, you're going to the Ball!'  
  
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The trio arose gasps from their guests. Two were clad in the traditional white of their House, but the third was dressed in a simple carmine velvet evening dress with a plain diamond necklace and long, black hair streaked with silver flowing in a shimmering river down her back. Her face was paled and creased with nerves.  
  
Luna hadn't seen so many people since the circus and it made her distinctly apprehensive. Summoning up all her courage, she sat in her place between the young Prince Wendell and one of the Lords of the Fourth Kingdom. Few men could keep their eyes off her, and if it weren't for the oddly pricked ears on the top of her head they would've been fighting each other to speak to her. Almost directly opposite was a woman with a sharp, spiteful face and arrayed entirely in a scarlet cape and hood, fiery curls dropping from either side of the cowl. Luna didn't need any introduction to know one of her most powerful adversaries, Queen Riding Hood II.  
  
To try and take her mind off the woman's loathsome sneer at her twitching silver-edged ears, Luna looked down at her dining cutlery and blanched at the sight. Knives, forks and spoons seemed to extend for miles down the table. There were at least four different types of glass and countless plates and bowls. This was as far removed as you could get from the customary hand and fang method of dining common to wolves.  
  
A small hand patted her knee gently, 'Don't worry, Luna, I'll help you.' She looked into the sincere brown eyes of Wendell.  
  
'Thank you, Prince. I'll fell much better knowing you're here if I should need you.'  
  
The meal passed uneventfully, Luna sating her enormous appetite on lamb and new delicacies she had never even heard of and would certainly not have been able to afford in her previous lowly existence. She occasionally grinned wolfishly at member of the staff who had thrown potatoes at her earlier in the evening. The young Prince was always ready to point out if she used the wrong fork or glass.  
  
It was in the latter stages of the evening, after all the toasts and speeches had been made and everyone was settling into pleasant conversation, that everything fell apart. Queen Riding Hood had been waiting all night for an excuse and she leaned over to Snow White, 'Tell me, your Majesty, who is your unusual guest?'  
  
'That is Luna; a very good friend of mine.'  
  
'A dragon Captain of the Guard and now a wolf confidante, you do have a court full of beasts. What next, a troll maid or perhaps a griffon butler?' A hearty roar issued from the guest, but it did not extend beyond Queen Riding Hood's lips - her eyes remained as cold as ever.  
  
'If they proved worthy of service I would not refuse either of them a position in my staff.'  
  
'And you, my dear,' her contempt-ridden gaze turned to Luna, 'How did you fall into such illustrious company?'  
  
Luna returned the stare while racking her brains, trying to remember where she had smelled the disturbingly familiar scent of the Queen before, 'Queen Snow White was very gracious and saved me from the wrath of some Kingdomfolk, may the fates preserve her good judgement, your Majesty.'  
  
Unwittingly Luna had provided the weapon that Vermeil Riding Hood had been searching for. Finally her eyes smiled along with her mouth, 'Really. That is most unusual. The good people of the Kingdoms rarely vent their anger without just cause.'  
  
'Yeah, well, this is one of those times.'  
  
'Are you sure? In my experience wolves are seldom proved innocent.'  
  
Riled by the insult, Luna glared at the Queen, 'And in my experience humans are extremely prejudiced and any crime will be put down to wolves.'  
  
'You were accused of one, then?'  
  
'I didn't say that.'  
  
'You see, wolves haven't gained their reputation for nothing. My own mother, Queen Riding Hood I, was threatened twice by the same vile wolf. I believe she met that flagitious creature a third time and he took her life,' her eyes blazed hatred and her cheeks flushed.  
  
The absolute conviction and righteousness in her voice and face made it click. Everything started to fall into place and Luna almost laughed, 'What makes you say that, dear sister in blood.'  
  
'The last day she was seen alive was when she went out hunting. She was never seen again, but her horse was - it had been torn apart by the fangs of wolves. And it's your Majesty to you!'  
  
'Perhaps she did meet that old wolf again, but made her peace with him and left to live a quiet life elsewhere away from the shame and guilt of what she had done to wolfkind, your Majesty.'  
  
'Absurd!'  
  
'No more so than your suggestion.'  
  
'My mother would not have demeaned herself by speaking to such a despicable creature as that wolf who ought to have been drowned at birth!'  
  
Luna's ears laid flat against her head and lips slowly drew back off her teeth, 'If that benevolent old wolf had been I would not have been alive today!'  
  
'Much to the good, I say. The less wolves in this world the better, especially of such an odious bloodline.'  
  
The wolf stood, banging her fist against the table and knocking over several glasses of wine before pointing straight at the spiteful woman, 'I don't have to take this abuse, not from you, or anyone, no matter who they are!' Luna did a sharp pirouette and stormed form the dining hall, her tail peeking from underneath the velvet dress.  
  
Snow White sighed, perhaps it hadn't been such a good idea. A scraping and clatter of a chair followed by a quick pattering of shoes on the marble floor signalled another guest's departure. Looking up she saw two empty chairs side-by-side.  
  
Wendell had gone to follow the wolf. 


	10. Chicken Feathers

A thick fog had crept up from nowhere. While most cursed its arrival, six secret plotters could not have wished for anything better. The meeting place was under the ancient yew tree in the castle gardens of Snow White. Two were already there and waiting for the final four.  
  
The haze almost completely hid the third member of the party to arrive, blending him perfectly into its white shroud. Paw shook claw in greeting, 'Welcome, dragon. I am Polaris, Luna's father and this is Ara, my wife.'  
  
'The pleasure is all mine, Son of Altair, and Daughter of the Stars.'  
  
Daughter or Son of the Stars was a traditional greeting given to wolves whose lineage was unknown to the speaker. Arc bent his head to let Ara touch his horns with her nose. 'Thank you, dear friend, for watching over my cherished daughter.'  
  
'It has been a joy. She's quite a hot flame, are you sure there's no dragon blood in her?' The three friends laughed together for a while before Arc got down to business, 'I don't know how much your sons have told you, but there is one thing they won't know and I think it best to tell you alone - Luna is pregnant.'  
  
Ara gasped, not sure whether to be delighted or worried. 'When are they due?'  
  
'Not long, I'd say within the week. You may have lodgings in my humble dwelling for as long as you wish.'  
  
Their conversation was interrupted by the clumsy entrance of their youngest son. Polaris glared sternly at the incompetent Sirius. 'Do you reckon they know we're here yet, Sirius?'  
  
The red wolf shrugged his thin shoulders nonchalantly, 'They wouldn't know if I banged on the window and howled as loud as I could, the music's too loud.'  
  
The assembly was almost complete, and became whole with the silent, stealthy ingress of Mira and Draco. Polaris took it upon himself to start the proceedings, 'We all know why we are here.'  
  
'Wait. Someone is not yet here who should be,' Arc held up an admonishing claw. The five wolves looked at each other, they were all there, who could possibly be missing? Arc shut his wings with a snap and a stranger appeared. 'This is someone who should be introduced. His name is Tamarisk and he is Luna's one true mate.'  
  
No one knew what to say or do. No one, that is, except for Draco. He stepped forward and grasped Tamm warmly by the paw, 'If you are the mate of my sister then you are most welcome, Tamarisk, my brother. I am Draco.'  
  
One by one the others were introduced and received with an amiable grin, a nod or an odd nervous itching of his left ear. The meeting was about to get underway again when Sirius shifted slightly and stepped backwards right onto something furry that squealed and spat before sinking dagger-like teeth into his ankle. The creature chattered angrily at the grounded wolf, 'Yah stupid wolf, mind yer clumsy feet! Almos' crushed me!'  
  
Ara looked down at the sinuous chocolate brown body that still worried her son's paws, 'It's a ferret.'  
  
'Not jus' any firrit, darlin', I'm Furo. I'll speak t' yah, not that idjit,' Furo glared venomously at Sirius, 'I'm lookin' fer a wolf called Luna, p'raps y' know her?'  
  
'How do you know Luna?' Sirius had managed to get up, but was hopping about trying to staunch the flow of blood from where Furo had bitten him.  
  
'What'd I jus' say, idjit? Anyhow, I helped her try to escape. Said I'd find her, got dis fer me trouble,' Furo indicated to his broken fang.  
  
'It seems that my daughter's found some useful allies.'  
  
'You her father?' Polaris nodded to the ferrets friendly smile, and finding himself unconsciously beaming with paternal love. 'You must be very proud of her, she's a fine wolf.'  
  
'I am proud of my daughter, as I am of all of my children.'  
  
'Be proud of yerselves too. Without knowing you were there she'd 'ave died or gone mad. 'Specially you, dragon.'  
  
Only Arc knew the honest truth of Furo's words, and he had the scars to prove when she had been on the borders of insanity. Yet every time she had bounced back. 'Now we are eight and here for only one reason: To help Luna. I believe she has fallen into bad and evil company. Now we must decide which way to go.'  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Clad once more in her old, weather-worn leather tunic, Luna was alone and surrounded by the stealthy fog whose very movement felt like icy fingers stroking her spine and beckoning her deeper into the night. She resisted the urge to run into anonymity and sat on a stone bench sculpted into the shape of a resting dragon, giving free rein to her anguish. The barbed shafts shot by Vermeil Riding Hood's bitter tongue had struck deep into Luna's heart.  
  
Music from the ballroom had struck up again, bringing fresh waves of sorrow and tears. It was a world that neither she nor her ill-fated cubs would ever get the chance to know - the world of humanity. She could have stayed in that room and suffered the insults, but it wasn't only Vermeil, they all thought the same, she could see it in their eyes, their hatred, their fear. It wasn't fair.  
  
She was so wrapped up in her own thoughts and self-pity that she didn't notice someone walking up behind her until he placed a hand on her shoulder. She leapt up in fright, preparing to attack the stalker. Breathing a huge sigh of relief, she recognized the mist-hazed face; 'Prince Wendell. Please don't do that again. I nearly jumped out of my skin.'  
  
Wendell wiped a rolling teardrop from Luna's cheek, 'Were you crying?'  
  
Luna scrubbed a paw across her eyes, trying to obliterate the evidence of her previous distress and managing a wan smile, 'It's all right. I'm fine now.'  
  
The blonde Prince sat next to her, his eyes hazel glowing with sincerity, 'It if was because of what Queen Riding Hood said, for all it's worth, I think she's wrong.'  
  
'Why?'  
  
Wendell battled with his conflicting emotions, on the one hand there were all the stories he had grown up with, on the other there was Luna, 'If you loved him so much he must have been a good wolf.'  
  
'Thank you, that means a lot to me that the one who will control my fate in the future cares so much about who the lowliest of creatures feels. I will be honoured to have you as a King.' Wendell turned away so she did not see him blush. Luna hardly noticed. 'Do you remember your Grandpa?'  
  
'He died just after I was born. What was yours really like?'  
  
'His name was Altair, that is the most important thing that he wanted to be remembered for. That he had a name. He was a good wolf; he told me stories, played games and taught me all I know about being who I am. He was a grandfather, a friend and a teacher all in one superb being.'  
  
Wendell thought hard. Luna's description contradicted harshly with the emotionless, evil creature that he had been taught to believe that the Big Bad Wolf was. He was not the Big Bad Wolf after all; he was Altair. It paid well to heed another's opinion after all. It was still difficult to believe that he had been lied to by all he knew. 'Was he really your grandfather?'  
  
'Yes.'  
  
'Why wasn't I told what he was really like?'  
  
' Maybe those who told you about him never knew or maybe they just couldn't believe that a wolf could be like he was. Then again maybe they just didn't want to believe. There are those in this world who would do anything to see us all dead.'  
  
Tears welled up in Luna's eyes once more. Wendell couldn't bear to see the unhappiness that he thought he had caused, not the rest of the world. 'Would you like to dance?'  
  
It was Luna's turn to blush, and she did so to the roots of her pricked ears before averting her eyes coyly, 'I, I don't know how. It's so different to the way I know.'  
  
Wendell gently pulled the wolf to her feet and placed her hands on his waist, 'I'll teach you, don't worry. Just follow me.'  
  
Slowly at first and then more comfortably the mismatched figures waltzed through the white shroud, one a blonde young boy in and impeccable, imperial white suit, the other an adult female half-wolf in a short, forest green leather tunic that was much patched and repaired. It was this odd sight that met the eyes of Snow White's Jubilee guests. The tall glass windows illuminated the courtyard immediately outside onto which the unwitting pair had danced. The entire throng watched in silent astonishment as the duo waltzed in perfect step like benign spirits of the mist, one dark and the other fair.  
  
When the music stopped the partners bowed to each other almost automatically, still as yet unaware of their observers.  
  
'You danced very well for a first time.'  
  
'It was all due to your leading, my friend.' Luna kissed the boy gently on the cheek. 'If you carry on dancing like that you'll have all the girls after you.'  
  
The hair on the back of her neck prickled and she suddenly became aware of the wide-eyed stares of the visitors. She whispered some final words of gratitude through Wendell's fair hair; 'Thank you for caring enough to look out for this simple, common wolf in her hour of need. You'll make a fantastic Monarch, future King Wendell.'  
  
When the Prince turned to reply, the wolf had already vanished into the all-encompassing fog leaving only the eerie echo of a howl in her wake.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Queen Riding Hood II had suffered with insomnia ever since her mother had disappeared. Nightmares of horrible deaths and the howls of barbarous and vengeful wolves haunted her dreams until she was too afraid to sleep. The sight of Luna that evening had only added to her fears. Secretly she feared the wolf terribly but did not dare to show it and so buried her fear in contempt.  
  
Unable to bear the suffocating stillness of Snow White's castle any longer, she pulled a thick robe over her nightgown and silently crept along silent corridors and descended hushed stairways until she reached a door leading out into the castle gardens. Slowly turning the knob, she entered the white, swirling world outside. Dawns first fingers were beginning to break through, casting ghostly shades in the fog.  
  
Bravely stepping out into this illusory realm, she breathed in grateful lungfuls of the damp air. A cracking twig behind her made her stop her stroll abruptly. She turned to face the unseen enemy, but saw nothing but the shifting haze. Gripped by the icy claws of fear, she quickened her pace, all the time feeling the hunter's eyes on her back like hateful beams of cold sunlight, stalking her stealthily, waiting to pounce. Occasional snaps of dry twigs or rustles of the undergrowth gave away its presence.  
  
A pheasant shot out of a bush nearby, giving raucous calls of panic and alarm, right across the woman's face. She screamed and broke into a run, her heart pounding painfully against her ribs. She heard the pursuer also loping behind her, coursing her skilfully through the gardens, over lawn and past tree with practised ease while she blundered along painfully, tripping over exposed root and creeping plant. It seemed that all of nature was against her.  
  
With a loud sob of relief Vermeil spotted the door and grabbed the handle thankfully, swinging the door inwards and slamming it behind her without even looking to see if she could spot the marauder. With her breath coming in ragged gasps, the Queen of the Second Kingdom tripped and stumbled up the stairs to the relative safety of her bedchamber.  
  
Luna watched the slamming door with a mixture of pleasure and disappointment. She was pleased that she had taken a bit of revenge on the evil-tongued woman who had insulted her family, but disappointed that she had not seen her hunter. Still, the memory of her fear might deny her sleep for a while and plague her mind. If she never knew what the evil in the mist was she never knew when it would come back. The thought brought an odd, twisted grin to Luna's face, making it ugly and unpleasant.  
  
The clearing of fog that had exposed her for a small second disappeared and the haze enveloped her completely. With the slight breeze came the muffled sounds of a cockerel crowing. Her predacious blood now fully aroused, the suggestion of Furo the ferret came back. The mighty appetite of a wolf never sated, she thought that perhaps she'd take herself off for a quick bite of chicken. What a shame that Furo had not been there, he would have appreciated the joke, she was sure, and the celebratory pre- breakfast sport.  
  
Licking her lips in anticipation the wolf made for the chicken coop, consoling herself in the knowledge that she wasn't just eating for one.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Dawn had well broken when Snow White was rudely awakened by the sounds of frantic squawking. An argument and a cry of agony followed it, along with the noise of rattling chains and a door being slammed. Unable to see the commotion from her chamber window, she hurriedly put on a robe and went to discover the cause of the fuss for herself.  
  
Halfway down the hallway Snow White met the instigator of chaos. Covered in blood and feathers, bound in chains and muzzled with rope, Luna was being dragged along backwards kicking and snarling all the way. This portrait of wild ferocity, sporting an impressive set of teeth and the willingness and knowledge to use them, bore very little resemblance to the sophisticated young woman of the night before. Fighting the urge to run from the untamed demon drenched in the blood of others that had been delivered onto her floor, Snow White stood firm and watched as impassively as she could as the wolf was thrown hard to the marble floor on her back. She made no sound, but just glared balefully at her captors.  
  
'What is the meaning of this disturbance?'  
  
The guard bowed low to the Queen, 'Forgive us, your Majesty, but we found this animal in the chicken pen.'  
  
The other guard held up the rent and battered carcasses of three large hens and a mighty cockerel, 'It had already killed these when we got there and would've killed more if we hadn't got there so quickly.'  
  
Snow White noticed a rapidly expanding pool of blood originating from one of the guards, 'Are you all right? You're bleeding.'  
  
'It bit me, Marm.' The long, sanguinary gash inflicted by Luna's teeth was brutally obvious and had ripped through two layers of thick cloth to tear the flesh beneath.  
  
'It probably would've killed him if it got the chance,' blurted out the second guard. A muffled noise that escaped from the bounds of the rope sounded suspiciously like a snort of disgust.  
  
'Go and see my personal physician. You may have seven hundred gold pieces in compensation for your injury and six weeks paid convalescence. Loose her muzzle and leave her to me. I'll see that it doesn't happen again.'  
  
The second guard gingerly untied the rope that held Luna's dangerous jaws shut. With a sharp twist of her body, Luna snapped at his wrists, clicking shut a hair's breadth from his flesh. The guards retreated hurriedly from the shining teeth and grinning maw. With the slamming of the door denoting their exit, Luna gave full vent to her merriment, tipping back her head and roaring with laughter. For someone who hadn't had a lot to laugh about over the past year her effect on the guards was undeniably comical. Still gurgling with spasms of mirth, Luna contorted her chained body until she was able to stand upright, thinking with regret of what a shame it was that she didn't have a paw free to wipe the joyful tears that coursed down her face. Snow White, however, didn't find the situation so amusing, 'This is no laughing matter, Luna. Why did you bite him?'  
  
Still trying to stifle the fits of giggles that still threatened to overwhelm her, Luna replied; 'Because I was enjoying myself. He just came up and grabbed me. It hurt, I panicked, so I bit him.'  
  
'What were you doing in the chicken coop in the first place?'  
  
'I got the idea from a friend. It's a wolf, it's what I do.'  
  
'Lie steal and kill?'  
  
Her previous good humour evaporated with this handful of salt being rubbed into open wounds, 'No, hunt, kill and survive. I was hungry, angry and bored, they were there, it happened.'  
  
The Queen now regretted her sharpness at the sight of the pouting wolf. Her maternal nature came once again to the fore and she started picking the downy feathers from Luna's blood-matted hair and noting the deep scratches on the left side of her face, probably from the spurs of the warlike cockerel. 'You don't have to survive here, my little wolf, you can live.'  
  
A fit of vile temper washed over the wolf and she pulled as far away as her manacles would let her, 'Live? You call this living? What have you given me in exchange for my freedom, chains and prisons? Survival is my life, I want to hunt, to kill and to live. That's what it means to be a wolf. I can never be human, no matter how hard you try, I know that now. There is no skill or enjoyment to be had in being given a piece of butchered meat.'  
  
'Oh, Luna. What am I going to do with you?'  
  
'Your decision, not mine.'  
  
'I now find it very hard to believe that you were innocent when I found you.'  
  
'I killed nothing, I had no need to. I had other things on my mind. Anyway, it would have been foolish to do it when I was already there. If I was plotting a massacre, or merely calling in for a quick snack, I would have done it as I left.'  
  
'Then who did?'  
  
Luna locked Snow White's glare, each word said slowly and menacingly, 'I killed nothing.' And as a byword added, 'It is not the way of the denizens of the wild to betray each other.'  
  
'Then why were you in the village?'  
  
'Because I wanted to feel what it was like to be normal, not hunted. To dance and feel freedom for once in my miserable life. Pity, we almost pulled it off.'  
  
Snow Whites face was sad and cold, 'I'm sorry, Luna, but I don't believe you. I have now seen your true colours. I gave you that collar to give you freedom. If this is the way you behave with your liberty I will take it away and you will live like a wild beast and not as a trusted companion. Furthermore, you have committed an unforgivable crime in both my eyes and the eyes of the guards.'  
  
'What, killing a few chickens that you were going to slaughter anyway?'  
  
'No, you attacked one of them and so they will fear you and treat you with contempt rather than respect, as you have already seen.'  
  
'I didn't notice any difference.'  
  
'You have lost my respect for you as well, and my trust. You will be taken back to your cage as you are and be left to reconsider your position and your attitude. I hope you will earn my confidence again, Luna. I would hate to see you live out your life in a cage. Guards!'  
  
As a fresh pair of guards entered the room to take her away, Snow White looked away, unable to stand the look of pure venom emanating from Luna's hostile yellow. 'Remove her to her cage and leave her there. I will decide her fate later.'  
  
Luna fired her parting shot out of pure rage, 'By my fur and fang, you'll regret this day! I may be a wolf, but I'm not stupid. You'll pay the price for imprisoning this huntress. I'll make you and all your hypocritical peers weep bitter tears, just you wait and see!'  
  
'Threats like those are like dust on the wind the wind, Luna - worthless.'  
  
'Even the smallest grain of dust can blind you if the wind in which it sails is strong enough and it knows how to get in your eyes. Wolves don't make idle threats, Your Majesty,' Luna spat before turning her attention to the guards, 'Take your filthy hands off me or I'll rip 'em off!' I can walk, aye, and I can bite, too, just ask your friend. He won't ever forget that wolves have teeth and know how to use 'em!'  
  
The wolf stalked out, slamming the door like thunder behind her. With a sigh of sorrow and grief Arc's words on the night of the storm came back with a flash, "Her heart is fragile, betray it and you might find yourself in deep water." The hole had been dug and she had jumped headlong into it. Echoes of the wrath of the tempest now in the outraged cries of a restrained wolf as the guards caught up with her.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
The moon had risen full and white, pale light flickering briefly over the Kingdoms as turbulent winds pushed the dark scudding cloud across its stark, cold face.  
  
Still fuming with insane energy Luna paced the confines of her prison cell muttering poisonous curses against Snow White, which she had every intention of carrying out. The rising had been a new experience for the wolf - it had hurt. Usually the transformation was painless, even pleasurable, but tonight had been different. From the first peek of the moon's brazen head over the horizon, the sharp jolts in her stomach had been excruciating. Her first thought was for her cubs, but maternal instinct told her that they were fine and calm. What was going wrong? Whining with the pain, long forgotten advice and warnings came from somewhere deep in the back of her mind.  
  
"Your wolf blood entitles you to all the glories of the hunt of the full moon. However, this gift comes at a price. Within you all lives a beast, a monster waiting to get out, though this is not the wolf, and don't let anyone tell you this is so. Give rein to that dark side and the Lady of the Moon herself will punish you. If bad intentions lurk in your soul it will cause agony every time that the hunters moon rises. Some would say this is a small price, but it will destroy all that you hold dear. Remember."  
  
Once the pains had subsided Luna realised what her Grandpa had meant about some saying that some called the pains a small price for what you received - she felt fantastic. It was like being reborn, the life that flooded through her was new and she felt unconquerable. The craving for blood was stronger, sure, but it was worth it. Unbeknown to her, her eyes had taken on an unhealthy reddish tinge to their normal liquid gold colour.  
  
As an additional punishment she had been denied meat and this did not improve her humour as a blood-craze had taken her in completely to its red- shrouded depths. The shrill, mocking voice emerging from the shadows made her almost lose her head completely, 'My, my, that's a pretty collar you wear.'  
  
'Shut up.'  
  
'Ooh, temper, temper. How do you fell wearing it, do you like it?'  
  
'What sort of a question is that? Of course I don't like it. It makes me look like more of a slave than I am. It was supposed to give me freedom, but wearing it I am not a wolf any more I'm a dog. It couldn't be more blindingly obvious if I started doing tricks on command.'  
  
'I couldn't have put it better myself. Besides, that collar also has a spell on it. Since your escapade this morning the hex is that you can't harm another living thing. Try it.'  
  
'I'd rip your filthy tongue out if I could get at you.'  
  
'Here, take a bite out of me if you think you are wolf enough to do it.'  
  
The Stepmother slid her withered arm through the cast iron bars of Luna's cage. With untold speed and a snarl of delight Luna leapt forward joyously to seize the wasted flesh. Just as her fangs touched the saggy skin terrible pains shot down her spine causing her to reel backwards with a yelp. Her teeth had not even furrowed the Stepmother's arm.  
  
Coloured stars continued to burst in front of the wolfs' eyes as she recovered from the shock, 'What was that?' she whined.  
  
'Like I told you, my poor dear, a spell to stop you harming anyone or anything while you are in possession of my darling stepdaughter. Even if you escape you are sentenced to starve to death. See, she wants to keep you a pet forever.'  
  
'Can you get it off?'  
  
'I would if I could, Luna, of course I would. Still, you're safe enough, but your cubs.'  
  
'How do you know?'  
  
'I'm no fool, nor is Snow White, and I know what they do to animals born in this place. They're either sent away to live their lives like yours here, in captivity, or they are killed.'  
  
'No!'  
  
'Ask the lynxes, if you can. Their kits, all four of them, were placed in a sack and drowned in the lake simply because no one wanted them.'  
  
Orageuse buried her green eyes into Luch's thick neck ruff haunted by the memory of her only kits. The pair had never dared to mate again after that incident for fear that they would conceive. Luch's distant, pain-filled eyes told Luna the truth of it.  
  
'And you?'  
  
'If you help me you can rear them in peace and freedom. Trust me, Luna.'  
  
'Yes, I think I do.'  
  
'Good. A week from now we will end it.'  
  
'That soon?'  
  
'The sooner she's gone the sooner we can enjoy our new lives, no longer outcasts, free to do as we please.'  
  
'What do you need me to do?'  
  
'Lock her in your cage, that's all.'  
  
'Really?'  
  
'And keep out of my way.'  
  
'Done.'  
  
The fatal pact was sealed with an exchange of gifts, a leg of finest venison for Luna and a small, carved bone knife for the Stepmother that Luna had shaped while idling away the prison days using a flint shard. Both traitors turned, well pleased with their gifts. 


	11. The Red Queen

Two days later Luna was back on the prowl.  
  
Overcome by guilt and remorse, Snow White had ordered Luna's cage unlocked. Consternation reigned when the freshly stripped leg of a deer was discovered after the wolf had gone. Someone had ignored a direct order from the sovereign of the Fourth Kingdom and fed the wolf. Before she could be asked about it, Luna had disappeared.  
  
Enjoying the drizzly, warm, summer breeze that ruffled her hair, Luna closed her eyes and threw back her head in a howl of triumph. Would these human fools never learn that no matter how bad the situation, the wolf would always end up the winner?  
  
Cut off in mid-howl, Luna clutched at her belly and wondered at the odd sensation she had felt there. Not pain exactly, it was, well, odd.  
  
She took a few steps forward before it happened again. The third time it happened there was no mistaking it - her cubs were coming. Her eyes lit up as she performed a strange shuffling run through the substantial grounds to the one place she felt she could go in safety - Arc's dwelling.  
  
Bursting through his unlatched wooden door, she caught Arc lounging on his pile of rags and straw. He had been absorbed in a parchment written entirely in ancient dragon script when Luna fell through his door.  
  
The cosiness of the place had an immediate calming effect on the wolf, who had got herself more worked up with every step she had taken. The dragon himself didn't look quite so white and threatening, bathed as he was in the warm, orange glow of the candles lit all around the room.  
  
'They're coming, Arc, I need your help.'  
  
Placing a comforting claw around her shoulders, he led her into a small side room, 'I thought it might be sometime today. I've prepared something for you.' Arc pushed open the rough-jointed door to reveal a comfortable little room lit by a small fire and a myriad of candles lighting up the skin bed and something else, the one thing Luna wanted most, 'Mother.'  
  
The red wolf was stretched out comfortably on the fire-warmed flagstones in front of the hearth. She smiled benignly at her daughter, 'Come and lay down, Luna.'  
  
Luna started to make her way over to her mother, but she doubled up with pain before she got there. Ara and Arc's eyes met across the room, 'Looks like we've got one who doesn't want to wait around for pleasantries.'  
  
Gently between them the red wolf and the white dragon laid the black wolf down on the deerskin bed. The strange feel of leather and brass around Luna's neck repelled Ara's touch, 'Here what's this?' She unbuckled the collar and threw it scornfully to the side of the room. 'Can't have your babies thinking that their mother isn't a free wolf.' Ara bathed her daughter's sweat-beaded brow with a damp cloth, 'Breathe steady now. The little one won't come out any faster than he needs to. Hush now. Shepherdess makes quite mess, but little lambs are lovely, when the moon is full, you'll hear the call, but be careful and so wary.' Ara recited the rhyme she had told her cubs when they were tiny as she calmed her daughter through the final stages of birth. 'Come on now, Lu. Just a little bit more. Last bit, now push.'  
  
Luna gave a mighty heave as her first cub took in its first breaths. The dragon and the grandmother dealt with the necessaries, cleaned the cub up and Arc handed him to his mother. 'You've got a fine male there, Luna. He's strong, believe me.'  
  
'There's at least one more in there, but it's not in such a hurry to enter the cold world. We've got a little while yet. Here, let me see my grandson.' Her outstretched arms received the babe tenderly, 'Oh, he's the image of his grandfather. He's going to be a charmer, this one. A real handsome lad. Do you have a name for him yet?'  
  
'I've known his name ever since I first felt him kicking. Arc-Luath shall be his title.'  
  
'Why?'  
  
'It could be for my dear friend Arc without whom I would not be here today, or for what the name means. I have not decided yet.'  
  
'What does it mean?'  
  
It was Arc that answered this time; 'The name Luath is the same in whichever tongue it is spoken, it is the main part of his name, and it means Swift. Arc is a different matter. In the ancient language of dragons it means a strong blizzard, for which I am named. However, in the feral speak it has a significantly stronger meaning. Arc means simply the Great. Which way would you have it spoken, Luna? Swift as a strong blizzard or Swift the Great?  
  
'I will not say it now, although I harbour strong suspicions, for it is better that he carves his own path than feels bound to the one we have laid for him.'  
  
'You have wisdom beyond your years.'  
  
A question nagged at he back of Luna's brain, and she could think of no better time to light her theory, 'Mama, for a clever wolf you know little of our lore. Even the basics.'  
  
'It was your father who was in for all the old tales and teachings.'  
  
'You don't have to pretend to me any more. I know who you are. Or rather, who you were.'  
  
Ara's eyes were downcast and shifty, 'I don't know what you mean.'  
  
'I met Vermeil.'  
  
'Oh.'  
  
Luna held her mother's paw and looked with smiling eyes on her until their gaze met and the corners of Ara's mouth twitched, fighting a smile, 'What gave it away?'  
  
'Blood is thicker than water. Even though she is a spoiled, selfish woman, so many of her mannerisms are yours, and Mira's, and no doubt my own. I am not angry at you not telling me, Mama, I just wanted to hear it from you own mouth.'  
  
'For you, my daughter, I will tell the tale even if it is merely to pass the time. Your first-born son can listen too for it is as much his heritage as it is yours.  
  
'Once upon a time, in a previous existence, my name was Queen Redeva Riding Hood I, or simply Red. This was not a term of endearment, but a monument to my murdering ways. I was the bane of every wolfs' life due to one incident with a wolf I came to love like my own father. Here is my story and this is the way I want it to be told.'  
  
'I will not tell the story of how I first met your Grandfather, I will only say this: The tale has been much exaggerated and not solely by me, although that is how the rumours started.  
  
'I was not a young woman any more, I had a ten year old daughter and I found little pleasure in being the ruler of a Kingdom. When people say it is lonely at the top they have little idea what it is to be a Queen. The only respite I found from my life was going hunting in the Royal Forests. Not deer or boar did I seek with my hounds. No, I hunted the creature I most hated. Many wolves fell to the jaws of my swift hounds and I had many trophies of successful kills.  
  
'It was upon one of these many excursions that I met a stranger in the woods. Upon riding into a clearing I noticed a bent old woman dressed in a ragged cloak picking berries and herbs. Needless to say I was not a patient woman, nor one who appreciated trespassers. In no uncertain terms I told her to remove herself immediately or face a good spell in the dungeons. It was illegal for commoners to kill any game in my forests.  
  
'"Greetings, Your Majesty," said she, "I am but a poor old lady searching for berries and fruits with which to feed my family."  
  
'There was an odd glint in her eyes that I had not noticed before she turned to look at me fully and it was then that I realised what she was, "Get off of my land, wolf, before I call my hounds."  
  
'"You would be a fool to do so, Your Majesty, for I am the bearer of a gift and a choice."  
  
'"I'm warning you."  
  
'"Just hear me out. We of wolf blood have suffered greatly, yet we have suffered quietly and peacefully for far too long in the hope of something better, remorse and redemption. You have failed us and we still forgive. Here, your gift.'  
  
'The wolf-woman took a glass ball the size of a small fist from underneath her cloak. It glowed with a light of its own, neither white nor blue or green. She passed it to me and I took it with much trepidation. It was warm and smooth and passed to my hand a pleasant tingling sensation. She asked me to look into it and what I saw shocked me. I saw wolves being burned alive, cubs ripped unborn from their mothers' wombs and others nailed to trees, alive, to hang there until they died. Their screams lived long in my ears after I had torn my gaze away from the sphere, sometimes I can still hear them.  
  
'"Hatred is a terrible thing from which we cannot escape without your help," the old woman's hand rested upon mine with a pity and understanding that was painful to me, "We can forgive all if you will end this plague of death and destruction that has fallen upon us. If you end your persecution then your people will end theirs."  
  
'I will not say that the prospect was not inviting to me, but I had become too set in my ways and had even begun to believe my own embellished story. I shook off her grip and threw the orb against a tree, shattering it into a thousand flying shards.  
  
'I pursed a wolfbone whistle to my lips to call my hounds, but an imperious look in the woman's eyes stopped me, "Be not so quick to call the jaws of death to ye," Her voice had changed to the older language and her tone was menacing, "The treasure thou hast destroyed carried with it a malison. By thine own narrow-mindedness art thou condemned, thy curse to see how at first thou should have seen and since not by choice, by force must thee be shown. Thy bane shall hang over you for all years, and my you not find peace in the hell of thine own creation. Be gone, vermin!"  
  
'I fell from my saddle consumed by pain. My horse, as confused as I, stood still for a moment too long I killed it and ate it. The woman laughed at me, but ran as quickly as I when the hounds bayed. My clothes were ripped from me as I charged blindly through the thorny undergrowth. Months I spent wandering and alone, not understanding, or perhaps denying, what had happened. I tried explaining to people that I met who I really was but was driven away from all human habitation. It wasn't until I looked at my reflection in a lake one dark day that I saw and finally comprehended what I was. Well, you know, but it stunned so much I almost gave up.  
  
'To be honest I was useless as a wolf. Apart from that first kill, which was more luck than anything else, I could not feed myself but for that which I stole, and I wasn't even very good at that. In my first winter I starved and it was here, in the pit of my despair, that I found my salvation.  
  
'Weeks had passed and I hadn't had anything to eat. My bones ridged my skin and I finally had no energy left. I collapsed in freshly fallen snow, unable to rise. Rabbits played around my useless body as I lay dying. I drifted in and out of sleep for days on end, but I always awoke no matter how much I wished to die.  
  
'I awoke again and night had fallen. A voice spoke to me and I thought that I had finally died because his voice was so soft and concerned, and he didn't try to hurt me, "Are you still alive, my dear?"  
  
'All I could do was blink my frozen eyes to let him know that I was listening, I could do nothing else, "Come on, then. I'll take you somewhere warm."  
  
'That was your grandfather who found me, healed me and cared for me throughout that long winter, along with your father. I could not keep the truth from them. They listened and accepted me for who I was, not what I had been. It was only now that I understood the creature in particular I had persecuted, and through him all wolves. But especially one. With Polaris I found true happiness for the first time in all my life and we made a natural pair. Altair spent more time alone to allow us to discover each other completely.  
  
'Come Spring I had recovered fully and it was time to move on. It was now that I realised how far I had travelled. From the eastern borders of my lands I had journeyed south, it must have been hundreds of miles, and even the stars were different. It was also now that I came to see how much happier I was now, and that I'd never want to go back to my old life.  
  
'One time when I was unusually alone, Altair wanted to talk to me. "My dear," he said, he never used my name, "I greatly fear that my son had fallen in love with you." My blood froze, I thought he was going to ask me to leave, and I wouldn't have blamed him if he held some grudge against me and feared for his son, "If that is indeed so there needs to be some changes. Firstly, do you love him?" I replied that I did, with all my heart, "Good, good. I want no living in sin, and we can't have a marriage if my daughter-to-be doesn't even have a name. Do you want this? It would mean that you would be an irrevocable wolf." I said that nothing would make me happier.  
  
'I'll never forget that night when Altair called me into his pack, his family, as his sons' mate. The stars were brighter than I'd ever seen them before. Altair's voice was clear as ice as he sang out the meanings and vows to the small pack. You were too young to remember when he did the same for you four and it's a shame he's not still around for your little ones. He gave me my name from a bright constellation of stars, the altar of the gods, in honour of the sacrifice I had made of my previous life.  
  
'The next spring I gave birth to all of you.'  
  
A primal scream interrupted the narrative, one that has been cried out since the dawn of time, 'Mama!' Luna shouted as her second cub came into the world, the second lupine grandchild of a former queen.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Dawn came in with great splendour, honouring the life that had come newly into the world. The white dragon slipped stealthily out from his humble quarters, now a maternal chamber, silent but for the delicate whimpers of mother and children at rest.  
  
He shut the door with hardly a creak so as not to disturb his budding adoptive family and paced out across the dew bejewelled grass. He breathed deeply at the fresh summer morning air and reflected at all that had happened during the night, what had been said and discussed.  
  
He leaned against his favourite tree, tilting back his head until his dagger-like horns rested flush with the trunk and his pale eyes stared up into the emerald canopy, 'What am I going to do, brother?'  
  
As usual the tree did not answer. They very rarely did unless it was something worth saying and you knew how to listen. But its silent presence was comforting nonetheless and gave Arc the peace he needed to think things over. There had been many revelations for one night. Redeva Riding Hood had not died, she was now a wolf called Ara, Luna's mother, the mate of the son of the wolf she had ruthlessly persecuted and was living quite happily in woodlands a few miles outside of the Little Lamb Village. Luna was also the latest of the illustrious line of Shadows, wolves that were revered as descendants of the Lady of the Moon herself. His situation was beginning to look precarious as he heard of Luna's pact, and now he must decide where his loyalties lay strongest - to the friend of over twenty years and the ruler of the Fourth Kingdom or to a wolf he had only known for a year, but who now proved to be a descendant of the Gods and could either prove to be the Kingdom's downfall or its salvation.  
  
What had disturbed the dragon most were Luna's words before she fell asleep, "If I fail in this, and I admit it's likely, I would rather walk upon the starlit pathway knowing I had done what I knew I had to and what was right rather than being forever in doubt." He wondered if her statement was quite as straightforward as it appeared to be.  
  
He was so deep in thought he did not notice Beck, the head menagerie keeper, walk across the gardens towards him.  
  
'Arc! Dragon!'  
  
The great lizard shook himself out of his reverie of hours and disrupting a column of ants that had found his scaly skin just as easy as bark to travel upon, 'Beck! Man!'  
  
Beck outwardly ignored the rebuke, but there was no love lost between the two, 'Have you seen the wolf?'  
  
'Luna? Yes, quite regularly actually. She's been in your care for the past year, I'm surprised you haven't noticed her.'  
  
'I don't have time for any of your stupid games, dragon. She hasn't been seen for over a day, it didn't return to the menagerie last night or this morning for feeding.'  
  
'Oh dear, do you think she could have run away?' Contempt and sarcasm oozed from between Arc's white teeth.  
  
'I know you're hiding her, dragon, and you won't get away with it for long. A wolf with a limp like hers couldn't hunt, you know that as well as both I and she does. You can play the fool all you like, but Her Majesty's going to get suspicious about your apparent lack of loyalty, then I'll have you. I've got half a mind to search your hut right now.'  
  
The relationship between Arc and Beck was usually thinly veiled animosity, but this display of vindictiveness made Arc do something very unusual - he lost his temper.  
  
As quick as lightning the dragon shot out a claw and grasped Beck around his throat and lifted him effortlessly off the ground to leave his feet dangling feebly in the air. For once his eyes were level with the dragon's but he wished with all his life that they weren't for they were angular and threatening, his breath hissing out between his bared teeth, 'You hear me, little man, and you listen well. You ever go near my place and I'll break your filthy neck like a twig. As for the wolf, you leave her to me. No harm'll come to her whilst I look after her. If the Queen wants her she'll come to me. You keep your poisonous tongue still or you'll find I have friends in high places too. Understand?'  
  
Beck nodded weakly, his face turning an unhealthy shade of purple. Arc cast him aside as easily as if her were throwing down a ragdoll.  
  
'Think on what I've said, gaoler, or you'll find you've made a mighty enemy.'  
  
Beck watched breathlessly as Arc marched back to his residence with baleful eyes, 'Oh yes, powerful enemies indeed, dragon. More devoted to a common wolf than your mistress, eh? We'll see about that.'  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
The day had not grown much older when Jasmine came down to the humble abode of the dragon. Most annoyed at having to resolve petty squabbles between the staff, she was not in the best of moods. Thumping loudly on the door, she did not wait for an answer before pushing it open.  
  
Arc confronted her immediately, his look of outrage softening only slightly when he saw who it was, 'What do you need here, Your Highness.'  
  
'I'm not here for my pleasure, that's for certain,' she look repelled by the state of the two-roomed hut, 'I don't like having to be arbitrator between my own workforce.'  
  
'The vipers' forked tongue couldn't stay behind his teeth.'  
  
'I expected better from you than this, threatening and assaulting a fellow member of staff. And Beck also brought some important facts to light. Is Luna here?'  
  
'She is.'  
  
'Why?'  
  
'She is ill and needs peace and quiet away from the lamentations of others. She came to me for help, I could not turn her away. She is a friend and holds me in her trust.'  
  
'Can I see her?'  
  
'I would rather you didn't. As I said, she needs absolute peace. I will send her back when she is recovered, I promise.'  
  
'Yesterday a stripped leg of venison was found in her cage. Not only had this been stolen or poached, but it disobeyed a direct order from my mother. There are strong suspicions that it was you.'  
  
'I knew of no such order, but it was not me.'  
  
'Arc, you cause much distress. Since that wolfs' coming here you have become unruly and disruptive. Unless this behaviour changes one of you will have to go.'  
  
'Go?'  
  
With a final withering look at the unopened door behind which Luna hid Jasmine left, leaving Arc in little doubt what would happen to Luna if it was indeed she who had to 'go', as it probably would be.  
  
Opening the door to the second room, Arc peered in protectively at his adoptive family. Luna slept still, curled in a tight ball with one of her two cubs, the female, nestled amongst the tangled legs and bushy tail. Ara, however, was awake and had heard every word. Cradled in her arms was the dark male, Luath.  
  
'I thought he was going to cry and give the game away,' she whispered, fearful of waking mother and daughter, 'But he didn't, he was as quiet as a mouse. Weren't you, Lu?' Intelligent baby eyes watched the dragon as he crept across the floor to sit next to Ara. Luath reached out a chubby, baby hand to Arc.  
  
'Half a day old and already wanting to explore without fear when you should be sleeping like your Mum and sister. Your mother named you well,' Arc chuckled and he took hold of the little wolf and sat him on his lap.  
  
'She did indeed. Oh, and speaking of mice, we have a visitor. He said that he's a friend of Luna's.' Ara pointed to a small furry ball curled above the hearth. The ball unfurled, stretched and groomed until he saw that it was indeed a mouse. A mouse with slate blue fur, an ivory belly and small, milky-white blind eyes - Souris.  
  
'You'll pardon my intrusion, I'm sure, but I have travelled rather a long way to speak with you. Upon learning that my lupine companion was also in the vicinity I travelled doubly fast. I have something to discuss with you, sir, a scheme I believe you might be very interested in.'  
  
As Souris' plan unfolded Arc began to see not only the brilliance of it, but the thorough research which the little rodent had unstintingly put into it.  
  
It was not only corn that had ears, it seemed.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Perdita Bly - in relation to your question about what Luna looks like, it is almost all the time as I described her in the prologue. She is a slender woman with long, black hair streaked with silver, golden yellow eyes and a long tail the same colours as her hair. Only during a full moon does she tend to take on a full lupine shape, although this is not compulsory and often she does not do so. It is a purely voluntary transformation, except in such cases as the last one, when it is forced by the wolf goddess, the Lady of the Moon. As to the reference to paws, even when they are what we would describe as hands and feet, she often refers to them as paws being a wolf raised by wolves. Hope this answers your questions! Thanks for your review, it made thoroughly delightful reading.  
  
Chopsticks of Doom - I think you will be able to tell that I love wolves too! I find them so much easier to write about than human characters. As to your question about how I first saw the tenth kingdom, I first saw is as a show, although I missed parts of it. I was so fascinated that I bought the video and have watched it countless times. 


	12. The Shadow's Fall

With much trepidation Arc had let Luna go. Back to the life where she had no future, even though he had offered her another option, even if he got tried for treason because of it. She had refused.  
  
"I'm doing this my way, Arc. I will not run away again, I have been running all my life and I'm tired of it," she had said, before turning to Ara, "Mother, if I die, or am imprisoned for high sedition, I want Mira to raise my little ones. Tell her that they are hers with my blessing, only, when they are old enough to understand, tell them of me and of what I tried to do for them. Watch over them, Mama, make me proud of them." With a final glance at little Arc-Luath and the yet unnamed female, Luna fought back the tears and left, buckling the collar back around her own neck.  
  
As soon as she walked through her cage door it was slammed behind her. Luna shook her head sadly as she felt the metal bars, wondering how long it would be her prison and if she would ever see her babies grow up to be the wolves she knew they would become?  
  
Snow White had come down to see Luna as soon as she heard that she was back. She had had a full report from Jasmine on the incident between Beck and Arc and wanted to see the evidence for herself. Luna did look as if she had been ill - she had lost a huge amount of weight and looked tired and haggard, little did she know it was from the constant care of a pair of mewling newborns over the past two days. She'd hardly slept the past the birth and was engrossed in taking care of her little ones, trying to absorb in a few days enough to last her for years, if she survived.  
  
Nothing was said to Luna for two days. It began to drive her crazy. She would have killed for even the humiliating, condescending baby-talk that many of the junior keepers used to speak to her, and for which she usually wanted to rip their tongues out. Just because she had the eyes of a wolf did not mean that she had the mind of a moron.  
  
It wasn't until the morning of the third day that she had any contact at all. Snow White herself came to her, 'Come on, Luna, can't have you lying around here all day.'  
  
If Luna perceived a different tone in Snow White's voice she wasn't mistaken. She'd been greatly angered by Luna's apparent abuse of her trust, not understanding the underlying causes. She'd decided to take the wolf in hand and if she insisted on behaving like a cross between a spoiled child and a feral dog then that is what she'd be treated like.  
  
Snapping a lead onto Luna's collar, the pair walked out into the summer sunshine. Once out in the full light Snow White could truly see why Luna had been after chickens the week before and she felt guilty for overreacting. Her bones showed proudly through her skin and her eyes seemed sunken, yet they held a new brightness as if some doubt or insecurity had been removed. The Queen lifted Luna's chin with two fingers and the wolf squinted in the full glare of the sun.  
  
'Look at you, you're emaciated. I really must have a word with Beck. He's not feeding you enough.' This wasn't really fair and Luna knew it, Beck hadn't done a thing wrong and had fed the wolf a perfect amount to maintain her weight. He wasn't to know that she was an expectant mother, although it was his job to spot those kind of things.  
  
Luna shook off the woman's support with a poorly disguised sneer.  
  
'What's got into you, Luna? You never used to be like this.'  
  
'Let's say that life is full of revelations.'  
  
They walked in an uncomfortable silence, unvoiced questions hanging unanswered between them. A sudden change in Luna's stance made them both stop. Her nostrils flared, her ears pricked and her eyes became bright. She crouched down and started moving four footed and stealthily in a way that the queen had never seen before. Scuttling like a crab, Luna moved into a clump of tall grass taking the bemused queen with her.  
  
All became clear when a herd of deer came trotting out from the fringe of the trees immediately ahead of them. Luna's breathing had slowed and she was now fully focussed in hunting mode assessing the individual members of the herd and weighing up her odds. Completely riveted on her target, a young fawn, one of this years obviously, with an injured leg, she had completely forgotten about the woman on the other end of the restraining leash. Judging her moment to absolute perfection she leapt forward to execute a death-run - a few sprinting steps, a leap and the hope that your bodyweight is enough to bring down the victim, a clean break-neck kill is a bonus - but it was roughly halted by a sharp jerk on her collar that sent her sprawling on her bony back, sharp hip bones digging painfully into the solid turf.  
  
'Damn!' she screamed, angry at everything, but most of all herself for forgetting. Standing with some difficulty the wolf watched flashing bob- tails spring away from her and calling out the blessing for when a hunt has failed, praising the worthy, essential competition between life and death;  
  
'Run fast, run well, good brother, The life that binds us is one and the same, One must die so the other can live, Until we meet, run well.'  
  
She held no ill will towards the deer, failure was part of life and most hunts did fail, especially if you hunted alone, but why she had failed made her frustrated.  
  
'I didn't know you could run like that. Four-footed I mean.'  
  
'You didn't know I could speak either until I loosed my tongue.'  
  
'Why.?'  
  
'Four feet on the ground and double your speed, you can't outrun a deer on two. Plus you're less visible lower to the ground. Makes your chances better.'  
  
'Then you would have.?'  
  
'Without question. There is nothing quite so satisfying as fresh young venison still warm from the kill. The scent is better than a spring morning.'  
  
'That's disgusting.'  
  
'That's the life of a wolf. What's the difference between my meat and yours, except that mine has been given freedom and the good chance of getting away.'  
  
'Here, if you want meat, eat this.'  
  
Snow White thrust a piece of cold, cooked beef into Luna's mouth. The wolf gagged on it before spitting it out with unprecedented violence. The woman's patronising smile disappeared as Luna's face changed effortlessly into enmity.  
  
'What the hell did you do that for?'  
  
'Oh, calm down, huffy. Don't get all hot and bothered.' She stroked the wolfs' dark head, and unwittingly put the final nail in her own coffin by injuring her pride.  
  
'Don't ever do that to me again.' Luna's fur bristled under the Queen's hand as it rested on her shoulder.  
  
'Why must you do this, Luna?'  
  
'What?'  
  
'Make life so hard on yourself. Why do you have to fight everyone and everything you come up against?'  
  
'Because I'm no cringing cur content to lie at your feet. And you haven't begun to see me fight yet.'  
  
'I think I got an idea at the stable-yard of the Red Bear.'  
  
Luna spat in contempt, 'I could have taken every one if they hadn't resorted to filthy underhand tricks. But their blood wasn't worth spilling on the clean ground.'  
  
The untameable warrior light shone hotly in the wolfs' fiery eyes, it was a light that Snow White did not understand, the determination a wild creature needs to survive, and so she was afraid of it and wanted to put it out. 'You really are a savage, aren't you?'  
  
The fire blazed brighter, 'I'd rather be a wolf in the trees than a man in his castle, for he has more power to be a beast than I.'  
  
'Come on, let's go back.'  
  
'Afraid of what you do not understand, or what you cannot have?'  
  
'That malicious tongue of yours will get you into trouble one day.'  
  
'Sooner than you think.'  
  
'Sorry?'  
  
'I said there's a storm coming tonight,' Luna sniffed the air with satisfaction and thought of how pleasurable it would be to make an end of it.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
This would be a sweet, sweet night.  
  
The Stepmother checked all of her equipment meticulously, caressing them gently and fantasizing about their uses. A jewelled silver comb loaded with the most deadly of poisons was delicately slipped inside a leather pouch, making sure it did not come into contact with her skin. She fondled the bone dagger that Luna had given her and rolled up a thick canvas sack. Revenge was so close she could almost taste it.  
  
Christine had been ordered to stay put, she had her own tasks to complete and plans to make. Killing Snow White was only stage one, and that was the part she wanted to complete.  
  
Before she left she offered one last piece of advice, one she hoped would hold her apprentice in good stead; 'If you ever lack underlings to carry out your bidding, then find a wolf. So weak, so trusting, so proud, offer them the world and they'll eat from your hand. She who controls the wolves also controls peoples' fear. Remember that.'  
  
She had left thinking over her own words. Luna had been so easy to manipulate and now she was going to reward her devoted little serf with all that she had earned.  
  
The Stepmother clipped a blood red rose from her flowering shrub with the little dagger and placed it carefully in her lank, thinning hair, adding a splash of colour like fresh gore on a blade. Her stygian eyes for once bright and alive and not looking like they belonged in a cadaver.  
  
The sun began to sink and there was one last thing to do before Luna called her.  
  
Death was a frequent visitor to the castle that day and he collected his first victim before nightfall.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
If anything Luna was in an even fouler mood than before. She had been silent since her aborted attack on the fawn letting the pressure and excitement of the oncoming storm fill her mind and tense her muscles, the natural anxiety of an approaching tempest working to her advantage and strengthening her resolve.  
  
She'd spent the rest of the day with her so-called 'mistress' not saying a word out of pure spite. She'd felt utterly humiliated being paraded around all day on the end of a leash like a broken pup. Still, all means to an end.  
  
The sun was low when the twosome arrived back in the prison yard. The keepers had finished for the evening and a fresh joint of meat awaited Luna in her cell. But for once she was not hungry - the blood of treachery had a bitter taste.  
  
She watched the sun falling from the sky, glorious orange lighting the atmosphere and turning the clouds every shade of gold, pink, purple and blue by degrees. Stormclouds were already rolling in from the northwest. If this was to be her last sunset let her go out like the blazing sun, only it would not rise again for her, she was sure. She said an invocation to the god of the tempest, 'Thunder help me, for I fear I do not have the strength to complete this alone.'  
  
'Come on, Luna, it's time to go inside now.'  
  
'No.' This was her first act of outright rebellion, and she wasn't good at it. She was playing for time and she knew she'd have to come up with something better than that. 'I'm not going back in there, there are. rats in there!' Genius, she knew how much humans hated rats with their fear of disease and getting bitten. Wolves held no such qualms, rats were a good source of information due to their ability to get everywhere and they were a handy source of food if times got slim.  
  
'Rats? Let me see.' Perfect. Hook, line and sinker. 'Where are they?'  
  
'In the back, they're everywhere.'  
  
Luna had hoped to be left on the outside for an easy escape, but she was taken inside and tethered. It wasn't ideal, but she'd have to make do.  
  
'I can't see any.' she stopped as the door slammed shut, she thought it was just the wind until she heard the subtle 'click' of the lock and saw Luna reaching out as far as her leash would allow her.  
  
'Luna, what did you do that for?'  
  
Luna turned to look at her, and it made her step back. She was smiling, but the smile was wicked and sly. The bloody sun dipped below the horizon and the sky was darkening by the second with night and the stormclouds that were rapidly covering the starless vault.  
  
It was time.  
  
Luna threw back her head and howled. It was the most terrible sound Snow White had ever heard. The most barbarous battle-cries of trolls did not compare to this. It was horrible, bloodthirsty and inhuman. She had never really noticed Luna's teeth before: the four long blade-like canines, curved and dangerous, killing teeth if ever she'd seen any. They scared her as much as the noise for there was definite threat about his posture.  
  
The figure that emerged was something out of a nightmare - old beyond her time, she hobbled out of the shadows on bare feet that were horribly disfigured by layers of old scar tissue from some injury. Her skin was saggy and wrinkled, very little flesh clung to those old bones now. It was hard to believe that she had once been the fairest in the land. As hideous and cadaverous as she was, Snow White recognised her instantly, 'You!'  
  
'Hello, my dear. We meet again.' She turned to Luna, 'Well done, wolf. You have done excellently.'  
  
Snow White was shocked, she didn't realise how deeply Luna had been involved, 'Luna, this was your doing. Why?'  
  
The Stepmother's voice was shrill and mocking, 'Wolves have such a talent for duplicity, it almost makes me jealous,' but no one paid any attention.  
  
Luna's eyes were cold and deadly and she seemed to bite off the end of her words and spit them rather than say them, 'I am nothing to you, just a wolf, maybe not even that. I am but another possession. This collar just proves that. Next you'll want me to jump through hoops to impress your fancy friends.'  
  
'Luna, you know that's not true. I did it to give you freedom.'  
  
'You did it to keep me slave! Why else would you put spells on it?'  
  
'I put no spell on it.'  
  
Luna shook her head disbelievingly, did she really think that lies would save her now? 'I have kept my side of the bargain. Let me out.'  
  
Snow White put a hand on Luna's shoulder but she shook it off irritably. Snow White for once got angry at the wolfs' stubbornness, 'I respected you for what you are. Now I see why the villagers hate your kind and I should have left you where I found you - in a circus beast wagon. Traitorous vermin!'  
  
Luna's eyes flashed dangerously crimson, she was losing control again, but there was still room in her wound to twist the knife once more. The Stepmother smirked unpleasantly, 'I'm sorry, Luna, but I can't let you out. You know far too much, and besides, my darling stepdaughter is right, she never put any spells on that collar. I did. You had to build up the bitterness and anger to carry out the deed.'  
  
Luna's voice was hoarse with rage, 'You betrayed me.'  
  
'Well worked out, wolf, better than I expected from a stupid animal like yourself.'  
  
'But, my family.'  
  
'Oh yes, your family.' For the first time Luna noticed a canvas sack that the Stepmother had been carrying. She let out a small whine as it moved and her blood turned icy cold as she knew for certain what it contained. The Stepmother reached inside and seized something small that whimpered and squirmed away from her bony grasp, 'Is this little rat yours, Luna? Quite pathetic, isn't he? Doesn't really deserve the life you gave him.'  
  
Arc-Luath cried pitifully and scrabbled helplessly at the thin air, his little tail weaving around, as a poisoned comb rested at his throat. Time slowed down for the adult wolf as she saw that evil woman threaten his first-borns life. With a strength born of just maternal protectiveness, Luna threw herself bodily at the barred door of his cage, her leash snapping like a cotton thread.  
  
Bars buckled and bent under the onslaught, but not enough, and not half as much as her body. Bones splintered and teeth shattered under ruthless attack, yet she still carried on. Blood and spittle flew from her broken and bruised mouth, yet she still continued. She persisted until her body could take no more and she collapsed in a daze, blood and salt tears inextricably merging as she lay prone on the floor, unable to rise.  
  
It had wrenched Snow White's heart to watch Luna bludgeoning herself senseless against solid metal in the one hope that she could save her baby, and even more when she saw that she had failed and she knew it. But she didn't know if she should pity the wolf, she had been a key conspirator in her own destruction and so was guilty of high treason at the least. But something stank, Luna had been betrayed as much as she had, if not more.  
  
The Stepmother removed the comb from the cub's neck and stroked his head fondly, 'No, we can't kill you, can we, my pet? You're far too valuable to me. When you grow up what a terror you'll be to the pathetic people who think that they can get rid of us. As for your mother, my precious, for her part she can watch me rise back to power, once we've got rid of the royal whelps, and be to me what she was to my dear Snow White, a dog.'  
  
The wolf raised herself shakily onto her hands and stared the Stepmother straight in the eyes, blood and fragments of tooth flying from between split lips, 'I would rather die. You manipulated and used me, I would never serve you willingly.'  
  
'You will serve me willingly or not!'  
  
Pain trebly as strong as that on the full moon ripped through Luna's entire body as the enchantment of the collar showed its true potency. Her spine arched, her head was thrown backwards, her tongue was lolling out, bleeding where she had bitten it, and her limbs seemed to stick out at all the wrong angles. She shook as pure agony raced from ears to tail, and she screamed.  
  
That scream was by far the most terrible thing for Snow White that evening. She had only ever heard anything like it once before when visiting field hospitals during the Nine Kingdoms Border Wars. It was the sound of the mortally wounded, those who knew they were dying but did not want to go quietly into the darkness. It sounded even worse as it bubbled through the spit and blood that filled her mutilated mouth.  
  
The pain was so powerful that it had blinded the wolf. It felt like her body was being ripped apart from the inside out. It filled her whole world, a world of eternal suffering. Then everything slowed, the pain subsided and everything was peaceful. She had never felt so free as she watched her tortured body convulsing, and knew it wasn't her any more.  
  
The body of Luna twitched and then lay still  
  
The Stepmother had watched with grim satisfaction as Snow White had been unable to tear her horror-filled eyes from the act of obscene cruelty. 'Oh, don't worry about her, her pain's over. Worry about yourself, my dear. I have waited a long time for this moment.'  
  
Thunder rattled around them as Snow White felt herself inexorably drawn towards the hag and it filled her with dread. Her arm stretched out through the distorted bars as if drawn on a string and the sharp venomous teeth of a silver comb moved close to the fragile skin. She remembered a scene much like it from her youth, only she didn't knew if she could survive again.  
  
A strange, cracked, wheezing laugh stopped them both in their tracks. They looked round in wide-eyed terror. 'Fool!' A voice neither of them recognized hissed between jagged teeth, 'Think you could kill me? I cannot be killed, I am immortal!'  
  
Luna, or whatever it was that inhabited her body, was standing behind them like the terrifying spirit of the wild, her eyes as wide and as white as the full moon, streaked in her own blood and as immovable as a mountain. If the storm raged around them it was because she was at the centre of it. The wind whipped her long hair in front of her face as she invoked the elements and called down an ancient curse. 'Hear me now, foolish mortal, you chose the wrong wolf to cross. You, who is but an infant in the ways of sorcery. Those who live by night know more of its dark guardians than you can imagine, and I, I am by far the superior mage, well experience in the darkest paths of magic and its many forms.'  
  
Luna advanced.  
  
In fear the Stepmother slashed at the wolf with the comb, oblivious of the bars that separated them for in her mood she believed that the wolf could pass right through them, opening new wounds on an already lacerated body. But poison that should have had immediate effect had none. The indestructible wolf seized the Stepmother's wrist and, with the strength of insanity, bent it, squeezed it and broke it until it dangled uselessly, still locked upon the comb, hissing constantly, 'The storm itself gives me life and thy weak poisons are useless against me. Tonight the Dark One is here and He has come for you. Rise up, rise up, brethren of the shadows. There is work to be done!' 


	13. The Lord of the Skies

Silence.  
  
Terrible dread silence reigned filling all with fear of what was to be. Even the storm had calmed which made the blow when it came much more fearsome.  
  
Lightning tore the sky asunder, renting the darkness with blades of white light. The thunder that followed it was tremendous and it seemed to go on forever. Snow White felt it reverberate through her entire body and the creatures it summoned were out of the worst nightmare.  
  
Seeming to rise from the torrid earth itself came a beast the likes of which she had never seen, made entirely out of smoke and flame it roared in echo to the passing thunder, calling another to its side.  
  
This next rose with a shriek, the very King of Rats it seemed, as large as a man with a thick bald tail, huge tulip shaped ears and monstrous chisel-like front incisors. His diminutive subjects swarmed all over and around him, squeaking and biting, clawing and fighting in a living sea of vicious rodents.  
  
Another, a creature of the swamps swathed in the foul flora and stinking sludge of the marsh, arose from another direction, its large pointed teeth erupting from its jaws in all directions and the sound that emerged therefrom was like the guardian of the gates of hell.  
  
The fourth seemed to be made of nothing but bones - the skull of a ram was its head and ribs encased its chest, on the outside. Decomposing flesh and skin still hung in malodorous tatters from its blue-white carcass. In the sockets where its eyes should have been there was nothing, only grim, dark holes.  
  
The fifth was probably the worst of all, instead of having one head it had three. An extra dark identical snake-like head sprouted from either side of its neck, huge fangs resting against their chins, and all three chattered and spat unintelligibly and gnashed their long sabre teeth.  
  
There was a sixth, but only Luna could see Him. Cloaked in a black robe, his eyes glowing like hot coals, he stalked around the others in macabre silence, choosing and watching. When she had said that the Dark One was with them she hadn't been lying. His presence did not induce fear now, He was her ally, her master, her mate who had given her the strength for her last task. They worked together now.  
  
The flame-beast advanced upon the Stepmother. She was shaking, she had no defence against the demons of the underworld, at least not all of them at once. A gaping black hole appeared in the monster's belly as it reached out a burning claw for the wriggling wolf cub. It disappeared into the smoking void before the flames closed in about it.  
  
The other four moved in on a command from the wolf she had called her underling - fool to have been so trusting - now the leader of all the hidden horrors of the night. The wolf howled and the fiends called with her, creating a cacophony of fear so powerful that she felt the ground shake and her heart pounded fit to burst.  
  
Just before they reached her she was seized from above. Powerful claws sank into her thin shoulders, through flesh and bone, and bore her aloft. The personification of the lightning had come down and flew her up towards the oncoming storm. Then her dropped her.  
  
She screamed only once as she plummeted downwards and her body shattered on the sun-hardened earth outside the castle grounds.  
  
Arc landed as a bolt of lighting struck in the gardens - and a single rose bush exploded in a sea of blue flame.  
  
Luna was swaying now, her mammoth fight against the poison that flooded her body almost over. 'Be gone now. Your work is done. I love you all.'  
  
The vengeful spirits departed with respectful bobs of their heads as the first sheets of rain fell. All but one. Luna welcomed him now, 'Come to me, my Lord.'  
  
Luna toppled backwards into his sweet embrace, her fight ended and her spirit already flying before her body hit the solid ground, with two words before she took her place upon the other way. 'Forgive me.'  
  
The starlit pathway was bright before her now, a white wolf already upon it along with another that she knew, but it was to the white wolf that she bowed, 'My Lady of the Moon.'  
  
* * * * *  
  
It was as Luna fell that Snow White understood what she had given - everything - blood, body, soul and life. She cradled the dying wolfs' head in her lap and wept the bitter tears Luna had promised after killing the chickens at what she had done to this poor beast, no woman, mother, that had made her turn to evil ways in order to protect herself and her child. A child that was now an orphan and abducted by terrible fiends due to her selfishness. She had forgotten her own lesson of the glass coffin - that obedience was not a virtue - and hadn't thought it applicable because Luna was part wolf, and therefore inferior. The part wolf who had given her life to protect the one who had kept her caged. The wolfs' yellow eyes were misted and Snow White wished with all her heart she could call her back so she could apologise for everything.  
  
Arc reached the cage and what he saw made his heart sink. Luna had bought her reconciliation with her life. With the strength only a dragon can muster he wrenched the door off its hinges, breaking the lock, and threw it aside with barely a thought.  
  
Snow White looked up at him, pathetically needy, 'Save her Arc.'  
  
He examined her tenderly, 'Poison?' he said, looking at the many scratches on her body, some deep, all bleeding, 'This is beyond my skill to heal, but there may be one chance.' His pale eyes searched the turbulent sky. The storm had changed direction, almost as if pushed by great wings.  
  
Great wings? That meant.  
  
Arc ran out of the cage and beat his own white wings, pushing himself rapidly upwards, soaring when he hit a thermal. Once at an adequate height he almost seemed to stand on the air, his wings outspread to make himself as obvious as possible. He roared, roared to rival the storm in strength.  
  
Snow White watched, not understanding the performance and feeling Luna die beneath her hands.  
  
The clouds cracked and parted and the most beautiful dragon Snow White had ever seen emerged from the boiling mass. He shimmered with all colours at once. He was double the size of Arc in body, but his wings were eight times the length of his and trebly as broad.  
  
The dragons roared at each other seemingly in a challenge and flew at each other. They locked hind claws and let their wings drop. Snow White choked in horror as the pair hurtled out of control towards the ground, spinning round and round, twisting and turning like a bolas flying through the air. At the very last moment they let go of each other and flicked open their wings, Arc pulling up slightly earlier while the rainbow-hued dragon's belly scales brushed against the tips of the long grass cutting a swathe the width of his mighty wingspan. Snow White had always thought that Arc was big, but he was a mere dwarf compared to that graceful giant of the skies.  
  
With powerful backward sweeps of their wings, both dragons came to a smooth halt just outside the menagerie.  
  
The dragons shook claws and clapped each other on the shoulders in a chummy fashion while conducting a conversation in ancient Dragontongue - mere growls, hisses and roars to the uncomprehending ear.  
  
'You've improved, son of the glacier. You wheel almost as well as me.'  
  
'It's good to see you, Raisho. We haven't flown together in a good forty years.'  
  
'A mere blink of the eye to me, Arc. Years come and go without my noticing.'  
  
'How fares my Lord Daeconduras?'  
  
'You know him, Arc. Old as the mountain and twice as indestructible. Did you call me down from the skies just for this? Not that I mind, you understand. Where the storm travels I am bound to follow. Besides, this isn't exactly a place I'd call welcoming.' A sapphire blue eye glanced disdainfully around the lines of cages.  
  
'Help me and you'll put an end to it.'  
  
'What favour do you ask?'  
  
Arc led his huge kinsman into the cage where Luna lay dying. She was fading fast now, Lord knows how she'd survived this long. Raisho nodded slightly to the Queen before turning his full attention to the wolf. He examined every cut and abrasion in minute detail, and while he did so Snow White inspected him. His skin glowed with all colours at once and his eyes were the most gentle and wise that she had ever seen. Unlike Arc's short, sharp horns, Raisho's curved down elegantly to his shoulders where they twisted into an almost complete semi-circle, their tips just touching each other.  
  
The great dragon started rocking backwards and forwards, chanting gently in a way that calmed everyone down before breathing gently on the wounds, sniffing them lightly and massaging them soothingly with his delicate claws. Before long clear liquid began running from the lacerations, poison drawn out by his skill, and with subtle motions it crystallized and fell to the stony ground where the wind blew it away.  
  
While he worked, Arc explained what he was doing to the Queen, 'Poison is an Earth art, and therefore not in my power to reverse. It needs an opposite to do that. To Fire is Ice, to Earth is Air. That's what Raisho is, a great Air dragon. If he cannot cure her no one can.'  
  
Raisho whispered a blessing over her that she find her way back from the starlit pathway before her time. He lifted his noble claw and for the first time spoke in man-speak, 'Poison like that is hard to make, it takes as much skill to manufacture as to remove it. However, if it is fought it can be slow acting, although I've never known anyone to survive that long. She is not just a wolf, who is she?'  
  
There was no hesitation in Arc's voice, 'The Shadow of the Moon, and a mother.'  
  
'Then we have done right.' There was pride in what Raisho said, 'It will take a Shadow's strength to survive, but even this one may not last. I have done all I can but do not hold out much hope.'  
  
'My thanks to you, Raisho. This family has already lost one daughter today, I will do all in my power to make sure that they don't lose another.'  
  
Arc's dwelling had been the site of bloody murder. Mira had been left to look after the cubs, she had given her life defending her sisters' young against the evil old crone who sought to kidnap them. Her fallen body had shielded the female, but the witch had stolen Luath. A single tear rolled down her cheek even as she died. The bone dagger was covered in poison and would have killed her even if it had not pierced her heart. Arc's revenge had been swift and brutal.  
  
'Will you stay, sky-brother?'  
  
'Perhaps for a few days. Soon I must chase the storms again.'  
  
Dawn broke with a red and bloody sun as lives hung by a thread. 


	14. Blood and Fire

The palace was a site of grief. A family was in mourning for a lost daughter, and another who hung on to life by the merest sliver. It was a miracle that she had survived that long, people joked that she must have more lives than a cat.  
  
Snow White had allowed Mira's body to rest in the crypt beneath the castle that was usually reserved for royalty while they waited to see if they needed another space in the family barrow.  
  
But it was not only Luna that had more than one life, for Snow White got the shock of her life when none other than Tamarisk appeared at the castle gates cradling two babes. She stared in open-mouthed disbelief at the vivid white scar on his chest through his open shirt, the entry hole of the arrow she thought had taken his life, before ushering him silently up to the room where Luna lay.  
  
He placed the cubs gently on the soft bed before nuzzling his mate's face gently and whimpering softly in her ragged, unhearing ear. The little ones cried quietly as they pawed at their mother's still body, her chest only making the slightest movement of breath. Snow White picked the cubs up and rocked them until their plaintive whines subsided.  
  
'I know this one, 'she touched the darker pup, Luath, on his head, 'but I've never seen this one before.'  
  
He turned his beautiful eyes, now so full of woe, to her, suspiciously, as if mistrustful of her with his cubs, 'That's Miran, our daughter. His name is Luath.'  
  
'Such beautiful names.'  
  
'Luna chose his, I chose hers. She's named after Luna's sister who died defending her.'  
  
Snow White walked onto the balcony. Below her three male wolves sat, Luna's brothers and father. A sudden scuffle erupted when the silver man- wolf attacked the red-head. It only ended when the third, darker wolf intervened and pinned the silver wolf to the floor while he raged and wailed out his grief.  
  
'It's hard for a father to lose both his daughters in one night.' Snow White jumped, she had not realised that Tamm had left Luna's side to come and stand beside her, his wolf feet making no sound on the marble floor. He reached out and took his daughter in his arms. 'Do not judge him harshly, his whole life has been loss and he is angry. He blames himself for allowing events to snowball the way they have. He believes if he had stopped them going to that dance then none of this would have happened.'  
  
'Then the story Luna told me was true?'  
  
'Every word. There will be a singing tonight to aid Mira on the starlit pathway. If you wish you may come, but do not be upset if Polaris is slightly resentful. It may not be what you are used to, but we shall do it the traditional wolvish way.'  
  
Tamarisk went to tend his mate who lay twixt life and death.  
  
* * * * *  
  
A fire had been built into a narrow strip and blazing torches set around it in a circle. The family gathered within the ring of fire, their yellow eyes ablaze with the flickering light. They had never looked more alive, which made the ceremony that much more poignant. A maidservant had been left tending to Luna and her children so all could attend the singing. Tamarisk took Luna's place and was an accepted member of the pack. Snow White kept away, she did not feel it was her place to interfere in a family affair, but she watched from a distance.  
  
Once all were gathered in silence Polaris started the singing, low and mournful, and the whole family joined the lament one by one. Snow White thought that even the very stars would weep at such a disconsolate display of affection for a lost loved one. She had never heard wolves singing properly before, only what she now understood as communication howls, and it was both beautiful and tragic at the same time. So many voices lending individual pitch and creating a harmony so perfect it was like the song of nature, the call of the wild. That was the strength of a wolf pack.  
  
The song drifted off into the clear night and faded slowly as the lupine choir gently stopped their chant. Polaris cast a favourite shawl of Mira's into the embers, a symbol of her spirit, and green flames flared up in acceptance of the offering. Biting his wrist until it bled, Polaris let the dark liquid drip into the emerald blaze to feed Mira's fire.  
  
'If any grievance exists between us still that keeps you from the starlit pathway let this blood end it now. Mine to the fire and yours upon the ground on which you died. With it I thee forgive and beg thy forgiveness, blood binding us in this life and beyond. Peace upon your journey to where the silver herds run. Good hunting, my daughter!' This last was said in howl form, a blessing for his cub on the eternal hunt.  
  
One by one they all bled into the blaze and repeated the liturgy of absolution so Mira would have no cause to stray from the One Path and so they would have peace in their own hearts at letting her go without resolving past differences.  
  
Polaris smiled and spread his arms wide, every bit the benign patriarch, 'Come, the time for sorrow is over. Let us eat and remember Mira for the daughter and sister that she was, even if we only knew her a short time. Let us sing, dance and be thankful that she was a part of our lives.'  
  
They feasted upon the deer that had been thoughtfully been left beside the ceremonial circle. Before Draco ate he took a large piece of meat and threw it on the burning coals, 'Eat well, Mira. Run well in the stars.'  
  
With whoops and barks the celebrations truly began. Great armfuls of wood and dried herbs were thrown upon the fire making the flames shoot up in great golden columns. Drums were beaten and reed flutes played as the rest danced and leapt over the fire pit in displays of virility and strength. The family part was over now, friends joined the thanksgiving for a young wolfs' life well lived. Arc and Raisho both joined the revelry, their steps graceful and their voices as loud as any. There were others too, small bodies casting giant shadows. Souris and Furo were both there along with Furo's mate, a slender jill named Umbra, who danced in their own way with arched backs and rigid tails. And if they believed they saw the shadows of two female wolves dancing and floating gently in the silver smoke perhaps they were not mistaken.  
  
The festivities continued until the stars waned from the sky. They rested where they fell, exhausted, a tangled mass of fur and scale, in a great heap together. Even little Souris slept safely, curled up between Arc's short horns.  
  
And finally Snow White understood the meaning of the wild.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Ara slipped away unnoticed from the sleeping group as the sun crept above the black horizon. She first checked upon Luna and her grandcubs. They slept peacefully, Luna still unconscious but Ara thought she had improved slightly, or was she just fooling herself? Miran stirred and whimpered, threatening to wake her brother, so she stroked the pups' head and sang softly until she drifted back to sleep. The maidservant tending them slept on unaware that the wolf had been and gone.  
  
It was early and the castle was hauntingly silent. For this Ara was thankful for she wanted to be alone. She padded gently downwards towards the crypt. To Mira.  
  
Her beautiful daughter now slept eternally upon a block of cold grey marble. Pale dawn light filtered through the small windows, highlighting the dead wolfs gentle features and making her fair hair shimmer. Ara attended her daughter with all a mothers care, straightening her long blonde hair and placing fresh flowers in it and around her. She wished with all her heart that Mira's green eyes would open in surprise and laugh at what had happened, but that was wrong. Her eyes saw a different world now.  
  
Ara gently took out Mira's tail from where someone had tucked it underneath her new, clean tunic. Yes, Mira was human but for her long white tail and perhaps someone had thought that that was how she should be. But her daughter wouldn't have wanted that - she enjoyed being a wolf and it was best that all knew it.  
  
She surveyed small trinkets that had been placed around her - gifts for the life beyond - jewellery, carvings, flowers and childhood treasures from her brothers. She handled one of them, a ball made from Airstone, a type of rock that was as light as a feather, that Mira had found in a stream when but a toddler that had been a favourite toy for all of them. One of Draco's baby teeth was still embedded in it from when he had bitten it too hard when he was little, she was sure it was he who must have kept it, and, strong as she was, she couldn't stop the tears from flowing.  
  
And she wasn't alone. Her red-tipped hackles rose and she felt uncontrollably angry at the dirty sneak who spied upon a grieving mother, 'Can't you leave me in peace?' Then she saw who it was. 'Oh, Your Majesty, forgive me, I.'  
  
Snow White shook her head dismissively, 'There is no apology necessary, I understand. No parent should have to mourn their child, and she was a beautiful child.'  
  
Ara stroked Mira's smooth forehead fondly, sniffing back the tears that still threatened to flow, 'But she was a troublemaker, always the brains behind the operation. Couldn't let a chance for mischief go, could my Mira. I am blessed that she was mine to raise and enjoy. At least I still have the other three.' There was a ghost of apprehension in her smile.  
  
'Luna will survive.'  
  
'Oh yes, I know that.' Ara's voice was imperious and carried with it a tone that was dangerous to defy. Snow White was sure that if Luna didn't pull through Ara would find some way to get back at her. 'She wouldn't let herself die now when she's got everything - mate, cubs, . freedom.'  
  
That last was an order aimed at her, Snow White was sure.  
  
'Ara, it is Ara isn't it? I was wondering what is Luna?'  
  
'She is a wolf, what else could she be?'  
  
'That night, in the storm.'  
  
'Oh, yes.' Ara knew exactly what the queen was asking her. The wolf smiled a secret, conspiratorial smile. This was a bit like letting the cat out of the bag, spoiling the illusion that Luna had built around herself on that fateful evening. No, Luna was no god, but the plan had been executed to perfection. 'She's a wolf with a loyal family willing to do anything for her. And put it this way, if they allowed wolves on the stage my Luna would be the most celebrated actress in all the Nine Kingdoms.'  
  
'Then it was.?' Realization dawned on Snow White and her eyes widened as the full impact of what she had been told revealed itself. It surely wasn't possible. Was it?  
  
Ara knew exactly what she was thinking, 'If you get too close you can still smell the smoke on Tamm, and I stink of that pondweed. Sirius won't show his tail now because it's bald!'  
  
'But, the three-headed beast? And the skeleton?'  
  
'Polaris and two ferrets and Draco wearing a ram's skeleton, it stank but it was worth it! The costumes were difficult to make look convincing, but I think we pulled it off. Don't you?'  
  
There was something about this wolfs' tone, stance and eyes that was familiar. In fact, if she were wearing a red cape and hood it would be perfect. but no, it couldn't be, could it? 'Red?' The wolf raised her eyebrows regally and Snow White knew for sure that she wasn't mistaken, 'How can this be?'  
  
'I was cursed, but my curse was my release. I wasn't born to be a queen, I was born to be a wolf, only I didn't know it, or at least I didn't understand it. I envied wolves their freedom and so tried to take it the only way I knew how.'  
  
'Do your family know?'  
  
Luna guessed and Polaris knows, as did Altair, Luna's grandfather, my big bad wolf. My saviour. Mira did not know and nor do Draco and Sirius. To them I am Ara, a wolf. That is the way it should be. I am happy, Snow.'  
  
'Vermeil.?'  
  
'I am dead to her, and that is for the best. She would not want me like this, besides I would take the only thing she wanted of me - her crown. She is also dead to me. I am not Vermeil's mother any more. I am Ara, Mira's mother. I have been given another life - this is my Happy Ever After.'  
  
'If that's the way you want it to be then of course I shall not tell anyone.'  
  
'Thank you, although I would appreciate an official written record kept so if my first line fails there are others to claim my throne, if they want it. Only if they want it, they are under no obligation. But any feuding over it and my line becomes null and void, the Kingdom to be run by an elected government of all races.'  
  
'Of course. Anything for an old friend, Red.'  
  
Ara drew herself up and it was obvious why she had been one of the five great women who changed and created the Kingdoms, 'My name is Ara,' and she left Snow White alone with her dead daughter.  
  
It was a shame that she had rejected her past, Snow White mused, for she would be an even greater queen due to her experiences. A wolf queen of the Second Kingdom would be a novelty indeed. Especially one with such a noble bearing to her tail! 


	15. The New Dawn

Sorry this has taken so long, It's hard trying to pull it all together in the end, which this is it apart from an epilogue which I'm working on right now. Hope you enjoy it.  
  
- - - - - - - - -  
  
Mira had been laid to rest in a family barrow at the northwest corner of the Thousand Mile Forest – the traditional pack grounds. The dragons had obligingly taken the wolves there to save time but left them in privacy until the tomb was resealed. A new torch was lit amongst old burnt-out ones on top of the grave to mark the passage of another pack member into the skies.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Weeks passed and Luna showed no change or improvement. Her numerous broken bones mended slowly including a broken jaw, shoulder, collarbone and countless fractured ribs. Her teeth, however, were a sadder story. There was not one in her mouth that wasn't damaged in some way, although the left side had fared better due to the majority of the impact being on the right. Only one canine, the upper left, was relatively intact, the others had been smashed to smithereens. Her already emaciated body grew gradually thinner over time until she looked like a skeleton with fur. Raisho had flown to follow his beloved storms with good wishes and blessings on all.  
  
The light glaring through the tall window was obscenely bright to eyes that were used to darkness. Full summer sunlight settled on Luna's gaunt face and she blinked owlishly as she adjusted to the new radiance. As far as she could tell it was high summer and the sun was at its zenith. A slight breeze blew through the open balcony doors and whisked the thin, gauzy curtains across the doorway, shielding the wolf from the full brilliance.  
  
She ached terribly, her muscles were dull and wasted from lack of use and her bones were still not fully healed and gave her occasional sharp twinges. Then again, she smiled ruefully, it was only nature reminding her that she was on her last chance. If she would continue on her self- destructive mission she couldn't expect help from the fates all the time! Twice in one night was a bit much, she had to admit.  
  
She gently sat herself up on the bed and rested her stiff back against the copious amounts of pillows before examining the room. It was tastefully, yet opulently, furnished with dark wood and fur rugs. Fur rugs that stretched and groaned? Try a brother and a mate sleeping away the heat of the day and she was getting nearer the mark.  
  
Only one pair of eyes watched her, beautiful blue eyes, and she rilled in delight when she saw them. Shuffling to the side of the bed she reached into a white painted cradle, the one thing she thought distasteful for it was far too gaudy, she would have preferred the rough coney-skin one that Arc made for her, but it did not matter. The real treasure is always to be found inside the chest, no matter how finely decorated it was.  
  
She lifted her son onto the bed, and then her waking daughter, and placed them on her knees and hugged them close. They had grown so much while she had been in limbo. Their little tails thrashed with happiness and they smiled and laughed now as she held them. She ran her tongue along the contours of her jagged teeth and winced as blood beaded up on it from cutting it on one of the razor-sharp edges.  
  
'Luna?' It was a voice she never thought she'd hear again.  
  
'Tamm?' Her voice was croaky and her throat sore, 'Oh, my love.' Her voice broke with emotion.  
  
The family embraced as one before another awoke, his dark features creased in mock annoyance, 'Keep it down, some of us are trying to sleep. You might have had your fill of it, Lu, but I certainly haven't!'  
  
* * * * * Over the next few weeks Luna slept much, ate more and was visited many times. One of the most enlightening was a conversation with her mother about her children. Their teeth had begun to erupt from their tender gums and they crawled about on hands and feet playing with each other. But although they had tails they did not look like wolves and this concerned Luna.  
  
'I thought with both me and Tamm being of equal blood that they would be too, but they are almost human.'  
  
Luna tutted as Luath sank his sharp little incisors into Miran's tail, causing her to yelp with pain, but the little female turned and nipped him hard on the nose in just retribution.  
  
Ara had asked a similar question when her four had been born and could think of no better answer than the one Altair had given her, 'Wolf blood is a very strange thing. It is like quicksilver. If you drop it on the ground it will shatter but merge into different sized puddles. Different sized but no less complete or perfect. These two might only appear to be small pools, but who knows how much flows inside? Who knows if they are a Draco on the inside?'  
  
* * * * *  
  
Almost a year had passed since Luna had awoken back to the living world. The whole family had stayed at the palace while the wolf had regained her strength. Much had happened; Luna and Tamm had married in a most peculiar ceremony presided over by both Polaris and Arc and witnessed by wolves who'd mysteriously appeared on the morning of the event. She'd commissioned a portrait to commemorate the occasion and this now hung in her private gallery.  
  
Their children were growing up well, Luath by far the bolder of the two, whilst Miran was far more patient and less inclined to complain.  
  
Luna herself, ever graceful, now carried with her an air of dignity and respect that is only earned through sacrificing everything and living to tell the tale. Not that she did tell it. On one of the few occasions that she did speak of it she replied to one cryptic answer:  
  
'I have seen the greatest darkness and come out the other side, seen both light and dark and embraces them as one. Suffering is a gift terrible to comprehend and yet great in its offering and if seized can lead to great insight, but at a price. I have lost so much but gained so much more from it. Only Mira knows how much, Lady rest her soul.'  
  
It was both enigmatic and beautiful to the Queen, but it was the haunting depths of Luna's eyes that told the real story and her inner peace seemed to lend an air of benevolence and tranquillity to the castle, which suited the Queen perfectly as she knew that her time was almost done. Arc had been missing for weeks and only she knew why – he was preparing her tomb.  
  
* * * * *  
  
One morning she awoke and knew that the time was near at hand. Her affairs were all in order and all she waited for was the right time, and Arc's return.  
  
The air was sweet and crisp as she walked the grass at the edge of the forest, birdsong rich in the grey light of dawn and Snow White revelled in it.  
  
From the shadows of the trees came a figure as white as the driven snow and with eyes as clear as the morning. Snow White turned to her most faithful servant and oldest friend, 'You're back then.'  
  
Arc smiled gently, his friend seemed to have grown so old while he'd been away, 'So it would seem. If you're looking for them, they've gone.'  
  
'I thought something felt missing, they didn't say goodbye.'  
  
'No... no, it's not their way. They thought if you didn't know how they felt already then a few words wouldn't change that.'  
  
Snow White felt their loss keenly, they had become like her own family, 'Where did they go?'  
  
'To whichever forest it is that they call home, where Luna can raise her cubs in safety.'  
  
'She could've done that here.'  
  
'You couldn't keep her caged forever. Luna is the spirit of the wild, the more you clipped her wings the more she'd try to fly, even if it killed her. She's grateful to you for making her see the truth of herself and to appreciate the freedom she took for granted. Here, she left this for you.'  
  
Arc handed his friend a charm made of some rough bone beads and... chicken feathers. Snow White laughed at the irony of it. Didn't these wolves ever do anything without some deeper meaning?  
  
'And that's not all. They left a legacy of their stay...' Arc rolled his eyes upwards to the covering canopy of the trees. Snow White followed his gaze and covered her mouth in shock, and a deeper feeling of delight. Perched on every branch was some exotic type of bird, all singing and creating the richer sound than she was used to. As one they beat their wings and created a rainbow of colour against the sky.  
  
'She didn't feel right leaving them behind bars. They've all gone.'  
  
'She should've known I'd do it myself.'  
  
'Perhaps she wanted to make sure. People's hearts can be very fickle.'  
  
They wandered towards the menagerie and found it completely bare and barren. The doors were bent and twisted beyond recognition so they could never be used again. Only one creature she knew had the strength to perform such a feat, but she didn't blame him for it. It was a fitting end to the place that now she could only contemplate as a prison, a gilded prison, but a prison no less.  
  
She picked a late red rose from a bush that was already beginning to grow over the ruined place. There was nothing left to do now, but for one thing.  
  
'Are you ready, Milady?' Arc bowed low, every part of him exuding respect for his Queen.  
  
'I have one last thing to do, Arc, I must see Wendell.'  
  
Arc nodded his assent and waited patiently until Snow White had finished her farewells.  
  
'I am ready now, Arc.'  
  
'Your Majesty.'  
  
With an elegance surprising in one so aged, the first Queen of the Fourth Kingdom climbed onto the dragons back and held on tightly as he began to wing his way towards the Dragon Mountain, his ancestral home. The fate of the Kingdom lay in her children's hands now and she felt a great feeling of relief that her task was finally over as the white dragon glided silently over her realm, now bathed in a serene light. 


	16. Epilogue

The black wolf stopped, looking with her single amber eye at the spellbound faces before her. She shook her head, gold loops jangling from her pricked ears, breaking the enchantment she had so skilfully woven over her audience.  
  
Virginia looked up at the life-sized portrait behind the villainous creature, 'So that was her?'  
  
'Yes, the painting that Snow White had done upon her wedding day.' She turned to Wendell, 'Do you remember her now, Your Majesty?'  
  
The glimmer of recognition that had occurred about halfway through the story had turned into an inferno, 'Of course I do. She was one of my best friends when I was young. When my parents died it was her that I cried for. When she didn't come I felt betrayed and shut her out.'  
  
Virginia noticed Wolf staring at the painting with something like regret in his eyes, but something else still bothered her, 'How do you know all this?'  
  
'That's easy, Luna was my Mama.'  
  
The black wolf's iniquitous features softened into sentiment, it's single golden eye remarkably striking amongst the jet-black fur that was completely devoid of any other shade.  
  
'Then your name is Miran.'  
  
'No, she was my older sister. I was not born here, but there is one in this room that was delivered by an Ice Dragon.'  
  
'Wolf...But that's impossible, you're too old, surely?'  
  
'Wolves age a lot faster than humans, my love. But you should have known, hasn't he even told you his name?'  
  
Wolf looked at his feet sheepishly, unable to meet the gaze of his mate or his sister.  
  
'Why did you keep your name from me?' Virginia was hurt as much as anything else by the fact that he hadn't trusted her enough to tell her his real name.  
  
'Because I left my name behind with my old life.'  
  
'When he left his soul behind. When he tried to forget who he was.'  
  
'Raven, you know that's not true!'  
  
'All I know is how much of a liar you are!' The black wolf was angry now, her eye flashing dangerously and her hackles raised, 'You left me behind to burn while you got your comfy cell in the Mem. Oh yes, Swift the Great, who couldn't even dare to be a wolf, who repeated the tragedies and triumphs of his mother and who still tried to fool himself into believing that he could deny his own blood. You can't hide from the moon, brother.'  
  
Wolf had grown equally angry during the tirade, 'I know I can't, no matter how hard I try, the evil moon always finds me!'  
  
Virginia and Wendell watched in absolute helplessness the internecine feud that had been raging for years and showed no promise of abating.  
  
'Evil moon?' Raven's words were slow and measured, yet infinitely more dangerous, 'Have you even thought that it wasn't the moon but yourself? The moon watches over wolves and does all in Her great power to stop them coming to harm – she punishes those who have wicked intentions lurking inside. Our mother once walked that treacherous path, but she came out the other side. Will you? Why do you think Mama always took us out to watch the moon when we were young? Because she knew what would happen if we were led astray – and who better to teach us than the Shadow of the Moon herself?'  
  
Virginia couldn't help remembering her first full moon with Wolf, all the things he'd said about his mother taking him out to watch the moon and what fate had befallen his parents... No. She shook her head in disbelief, it couldn't have happened to those wolves, could it? Suddenly the spectre became much more ugly when she thought of how Wolf's parents had died – by being burnt to death by some villagers. The wolves that they'd killed had saved Snow White's life and had already suffered so much. She felt the pain again of when her mother had died, but her mother had almost destroyed the Kingdoms, not saved them.  
  
The wolves stood eye to glowing eye. Looking at them like this it was absurdly obvious how similar they were. They were about as close as man and beast could possibly be, especially with Wolf's hackles raised and his tail beginning to peek from out of his trousers. Yet this fact alone scared Virginia, that Wolf could have a sister so, so... wolflike! How much wolf blood would their baby have? Would it turn out like Wolf's sister? There was something more than that wolf's appearance that frightened her.  
  
The black wolf broke the stalemate, looking anxiously around the room and declaring: 'Excuse me, I've got some business to attend to, and enclosed spaces make me edgy.' With that she dropped onto all fours and bounded away, her tail swinging high above her.  
  
'Raven, wait! Raven!' From his look of loss and the tone of desperation in his voice she knew he loved his sister deeply and it pained him to lose her again.  
  
'Go after her, Wolf,' Virginia said to him softly, understanding how hard it was to lose someone you loved. Only he didn't have to.  
  
With barely a backward glance he went running after her, calling out her name as he went, 'Raven, Raven, wait!'  
  
He caught up with her near an old, abandoned part of the castle grounds as he thought she meant him to. 'Raven, wait, don't go.'  
  
She turned to face him, her single eye sad and bereft, 'Why should I stay, there's nothing here for me. You have your mate and soon a little one. Don't let him grow up hating his wolf side like you did, will you?'  
  
She sounded almost desperate, pleading. A tear carved its own channel through her thick black fur. Wolf had never seen his sister so vulnerable. He pulled her close and hugged her tight, 'I never hated you, Raven, how could I? If he ever does I'll make sure his Auntie Raven shows him a better way than me.'  
  
'Lu, do you know what this place is?'  
  
Wolf looked round at the twisted and rusted metal and saw it as it must once have been, 'This was our Mama's prison, where I was conceived.'  
  
'Where Mama learned she didn't want to be a human, she wanted to be a wolf because that's what she was.'  
  
'I take it that there's a message for me there somewhere.'  
  
'You decide. I've missed you, Lu.'  
  
'And I've missed you too. Why don't you stay? I'm sure Wendell won't mind.'  
  
'He'd mind if he knew he were harbouring an escaped convict.'  
  
'That doesn't matter. Wendell pardoned all the wolves!'  
  
'Not where I was.'  
  
Wolf dreaded the answer to the question he was about to ask, 'Where were you?'  
  
Instead of speaking Raven removed a tattered scarf, the only clothing she wore, that hung over her right shoulder. What it revealed made Wolf recoil in horror – the perfect shape of a rams head had been branded into the living flesh.  
  
'You got Ramsbard?'  
  
Ramsbard Prison was the most feared in all the Nine Kingdoms. The cruelty of its warders was renowned, but not half as much as the inmates – only the most feared and dangerous were sent there – lives that didn't matter. Even the Evil Queen had been too high profile to send there.  
  
'I'm not proud of what we did to get out of there. Even the lowliest murderers didn't deserve Ramsbard. You've got to understand, Lu, I got sent down for multiple murder with no hope of parole. You just got a few years for theft and the cons we pulled. You can't imagine it unless you've been there. It was a place that created murderers, not cured them.'  
  
This time Wolf didn't ask, this time he really didn't want to know. Instead he asked: 'So where will you go now?'  
  
'I'm going to the mountain.'  
  
Wolf already knew which mountain – the Dragon Mountain – he could see it reflected in her eyes. She began to buckle on a sling from where she's stashed it under a rambling rose bush, watched over by the beady eyes of the black bird that was her namesake. It housed a viciously shaped knife and a leather quiver full of black-flighted arrows. She examined the string on a yew longbow as she spoke.  
  
'It's where my destiny's been leading me all my life. I'm going to stand by the mighty bones of Behemoth and call my brothers home. I will sing them back to the lands from which they fled.'  
  
'You think it'll work?'  
  
'It must, I feel it. The dragons have been gone from these parts for far too long. They are the source of the magic in this land, you know that. The dwarves stole their home and now we will win it back.  
  
'If you ever need a hunting partner on the hunters moon sing for me and I shall come. I have watched over you these many years and will continue to do so. Luck and the Lady of the Moon be with you, Arc-Luath.'  
  
As he watched her melt into the shadows, a large raven perched upon her shoulder, he felt like he had not been talking to his sister but his mother. With a hint of sadness he turned away to dream of the mountain for he too felt the pull of an ancient promise.  
  
'Luck and the Lady of the Moon be with you too, Raven, Shadow of the Moon.'  
  
* * * * *  
  
Ok, I know this wasn't the ending most people had anticipated and I'm sorry for what happened to Luna and Tamm, but I'm currently working on a story to explain why the hell this happened, and what happens to Raven, Wolf and Virginia. 


	17. Out of the Shadows

This is a little taster of the next story, which will be called 'Out of the Shadows' when I get round to polishing it up enough to post.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Never had a more beautiful autumn day dawned. The entire country had been gilded by fallen leaves and chill sunlight. Paper-thin wisps of red, gold, umber, yellow and brown clung vainly to their past homes before the light breeze whisked them away in multi-coloured swirls  
  
The sky was a pale, hazy blue and a cool zephyr rustled the crispy undergrowth and stirred the bare branches from which the leaves had already flown. Black rock changed to subtle shades of pink and purple with the rising sun, yet the shadows between crags seemed to become deeper and more impenetrable in contrast to the lightening morning.  
  
One shadow alone moved against the passage of the sun, a shadow that leapt from rock to slippery rock once it had emerged from the dark forest at the foot of the mountain. Small and slight, it slipped like a ghost between crag and over jut down to the lake.  
  
Raven had been travelling for months. If she'd taken a direct route from the castle she could've been here in days, but she hadn't felt it right and so had wandered wherever her heart had led her. She had acquired the loose- limbed gait natural to all true wolves from her travels. She had visited places she had meant to for years – hard, terrible years of pain and solitude – her parents' grave, the old Council Tree, the Wolf Stones, the Sacred Spring, long-forgotten places, always alone and hidden.  
  
She hadn't eaten, slept or even stopped for two nights so she could reach Dragon Mountain today, the eve of the full moon. She'd run flat out for the last seven miles or so and the sweat was steaming off her sleek black fur. Stowing her quiver, bow, belt and dagger safely under a bush, Raven dived headlong into the pool beneath Snow White Falls. The iciness of the water took her breath away. She should have expected it due to the enchantment of the Ice Dragon above her.  
  
She savoured every needle-like stab of cold refreshing her tired muscles and submerged completely into the freezing depths to feel the turbulent waters wash away the accumulate filth of hard travel.  
  
Finally, she completely rejuvenated, the black wolf swam to the gravely shore. Once there she shook the majority of the water out of her sooty fur like a dog before sunning herself on an exposed flat rock already warmed by the new autumn sun that was almost as strong as summer.  
  
As she lay there she reflected on why she had never let herself do this before. She'd always been on the move, even in prison she'd kept herself ludicrously agitated and ready for anything. Now she knew why. All the hurt and pain she'd experienced over the years that she'd buried deep in her heart came racing to the surface in a sickening rush.  
  
But worst of all was the loneliness – a terrible, aching, overwhelming emotion that gnawed and bit and ate her soul alive.  
  
Since her parents had died she'd always felt so alone. Her brothers and sisters didn't understand – they weren't wolf enough. Luath had tried, and she loved him for it, but it didn't work. He could walk through life pretending to be human if he wanted to, but unlike him she couldn't hide what she was – and what's more she didn't want to. She needed a pack to make her whole, but she'd always had solitude forced upon her, and what pack would accept her now?  
  
Her single raven companion wasn't much help, but she knew how much Rab always tried to cheer her up. She wasn't the easiest to get along with, but the raven cared not. He watched her, concerned, as her body began to shake with the sobs of years of pent-up anger, frustration and downright pain. Her scar glowed red in the new sun, fresh scar tissue blistering over the old rams head where it had been burnt to obliteration. It now looked like just another wound, not an identification mark.  
  
Wiping away the tears, she walked back up to where she had secreted her weaponry. Buckling it back on, she picked up her bow and breathed in the air of a fresh life and a new task. With an agility that would have put a mountain goat to shame, the wolf set off up the mountain to meet her destiny whilst great black raven wheeled and cawed high above her in the clear sky. 


End file.
